Haruhi Fujioka is L
by RikaFurude13
Summary: Haruhi's absence from class coupled with extremely high test scores sparks a suspicion among the Ouran community. Kyoya, meanwhile, has been very interested in L, the world's best detective. The Host Club's formation of a police task force faces them with danger and justice like never before as the Kira phenomenon takes its icy hold on the world.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-August 17, 2010

Kyoya Ohtori sat in his office, looking at the television critically. The news was playing. Kyoya had no interest in whatever was on the news at the moment, but he had no other things to occupy himself with.

He sighed, putting his head in his hands. He was starting high school the next day and wasn't entirely looking forward to it. He drifted off into a doze when energetic music began emitting from the television. Kyoya's eyes opened, peering at the television. Tsukiko-san, the lead reporter, was telling the news with an excited voice.

"_The case that made the Los Angeles police stall with the sheer difficulty has finally been solved! The Los Angeles Wara Ningyo murders are solved!" _

Kyoya perked up in interest, knowing that one of his Ohtori relatives worked with the Los Angeles police. He was the best detective they had, but the reporter was saying that the police found it extremely difficult. That was preposterous. If the Ohtori detective didn't solve the case, then who did?

"_The detective is a new one brought upon the scene, known only to the police as a black Old English letter L on a white background. Throughout the entire case, no-one saw his face. Nobody knows who the mysterious L is, but whoever he is, he is good._"

The picture of this new detective's insignia burned itself into Kyoya's mind as he felt an unexpected pang of jealously. There was no way some guy behind a screen was able to outshine the Los Angeles police. The story turned to something regarding the space program, and Kyoya turned the television off.

"You did good, L," Quillish Whammy congratulated. L sighed.

"It was my fault all of it happened," she said. "Beyond was too caught up in trying to surpass me." L turned to Whammy with a frown.

"Still. It couldn't have been helped. A simple schoolyard rivalry turned into a detective war of sorts, but it wasn't your fault. I know that you and him were close friends, and I know how hard it was to bring him to justice."

L sighed again, looking at her hands. It was such a simple start. Attending the school at Whammy's orphanage, meeting Beyond Birthday, an eccentric and aloof boy her age. L always had the top scores in the school, with Beyond being second every time. Things flowed together and ended up with Beyond going to Los Angeles and killing three people, before attempting to kill himself. L admitted, without FBI agent Naomi Misora's help, she wouldn't have been able to stop it. He would have succeeded in creating the 'unsolvable' case he wanted. L was growing increasingly more worried when she witnessed the new top students of Whammy's House: Near and Mello. Their relationship was similar to hers and Beyonds, except that Mello and Near were never friends, and probably wouldn't be.

"I've finished filling out your enrollment papers for Higashi Middle School," Whammy told her. "Is there any reason why you are going to school when your intellect has you out of college already? It would be much too dull."

"Interesting things happen at school, Whammy. I may be able to find more leads to cases now that I've made my detective debut," L answered, standing up, slightly hunched.

"I see. There are a few more things to take care of. You need a guardian figure, other than me. I have to go back to Winchester to supervise the orphanage. There is a very close friend of mine who has agreed to take the role of father-figure to you."

L looked at Whammy curiously. "Who?"

"His name is Ryoji Fujioka. He is quite competent, and a very good actor. I'm certain that he will do well for your likings."

"I see. I suppose my alias must use 'Fujioka', then?"

"That would be correct."

L ran her hand through her long hair. "Very well. Thank you, Whammy."

"Ah, ma'am. One more thing. What is your alias going to be?"

L thought for a moment. "I am rather fond of the springtime, as you may know, Whammy. So I will call myself 'spring day'; Haruhi Fujioka."

Whammy smiled. "Good choice. Now I will be back in a few hours."

L nodded and sat in her unusual fashion on the the chair, staring at her computer for more potential cases. Seeing one in Canada that got her attention, she began to work, letting her impeccable sense of justice lead the way.

* * *

AN: Hello! I've started this story because I'm almost finished with my first one! This idea has been lurking in my imagination for quite some time, so I decided to let the world see! Hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- July 30th

"L, are you ready?" Ryoji asked her as she sat in her usual way before the computer. She looked up, sighing.

"Sure." L got up slowly.

"Remember your alias?"

"Yes."

"Remember the rules: be outstanding but not-"

"Too outstanding? Yes."

"Remember to sit right and to not be too weird?"

"Yes, Ryoji, I know!" L gave a glare to her caretaker, who merely smiled.

"Just making sure. I don't want you to miss out on a scholarship at Ouran Academy! But you do know that we could just pay, right?"

L sighed, looking at Ryoji in slight impatience. "We are posing as a middle class family. We do not 'have' the funds for such."

"Yeah... stupid idea, I know. But if you want to stay inconspicuous, then why are you trying to get into Ouran? That will only draw unnecessary attention to yourself."

"I appreciate the challenge. Besides, there are scandals in a lot of rich, aristocratic families. It would be interesting to try to unearth some of these, as side cases, if you will."

"Okay then. Let's go." Ryoji opened the door for L as she walked out to the drab car Ryoji had. He got in the drivers side and calmly drove L to the entrance exams for Ouran Academy.

"Good luck!" Ryoji smiled as she got out of the car. "Pick you up in two hours!" L nodded and went inside the building. There were about ten other students who were looking to be scholarship students at Ouran Academy next year. But only one would make it, and L was going to make certain that it would be her.

Two hours later, and most of the students looked mentally drained. The test was painfully easy for L, but she shook it off, getting a couple of answers wrong on purpose. She was sure her test result would be quite satisfactory. All that was left was the interview the next week.

L still felt a little guilty, remembering Arai's face when she pretended to misinterpret his request for them to stay together. She knew it was cruel to break his heart like that, especially when he was so obviously doting on her. However, having close friends in her line of work was too dangerous.

She and Ryoji entered their apartment, L going straight to her computer to work again. Ryoji sighed.

"You work too much."

"We have been through this. It is extremely necessary."

"Are you confident that you can enroll into Ouran? You seem to be in a better mood."

"I am confident, but you'd be incorrect about my mood."

Ryoji looked confused. "Why is that?"

L looked at him. "This case is about the murders of small children. And that test was too easy, just two hours of my life wasted to get into some prestigious school."

Ryoji chuckled. "Of course. Even though it was your idea to get the scholarship."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to get some work done, Ryoji. Shouldn't you be getting to bed? Your job at that tranny bar must be pretty harrowing."

Ryoji didn't miss the sarcastic tone in L's voice as he chuckled once more and ruffled her long hair. "Yep. See you tomorrow." He left the room to go to his bedroom. L picked up a strawberry from her secret stash and ate it, looking over the files on her computer. She wasn't nervous at all from the interview, she had been practising with Ryoji to make herself seem less 'abnormal'. She snickered at the thought. Abnormal? Her? Nope.

Finally, school was about to start. Thanks to her guardian's intense training, she had gotten through the interview with swimming colours. She was a little different in appearance than the other girls from the Academy, obviously. The uniforms were ridiculously high-priced, and L knew that someone of her supposed social standing would never have been able to afford them, so she wore her usual blue jeans and white shirt, a striped sweater over the shirt in an attempt to look slightly more presentable. L hated wearing shoes, but got over it when Ryoji practically forced her socks and shoes on. Gum had gotten in her long hair when she went out last week, so she cut it, not caring if she looked like a boy. Ryoji didn't exactly approve of her short, choppy hair and trimmed it to look better, much to L's dismay. He had even taken to calling L 'Haruhi' around the house, to get her used to being referred to that way. L had said that it was hardly necessary, but he insisted.

L walked onto the imposing grounds of the school. She stared at it distastefully. School, indeed. Looked more like a castle than anything else. She sighed and disregarded it, wanting to find some place to waste time. She didn't dare bring her computer with her, it was a sign of wealth, and if anybody figured out her profession... well... it wouldn't sit well with her. It made her ache to be seperated from her cases for so long, the biting boredom becoming prominent throughout the school day.

She ended up deciding to go to her first class, knowing that students were staring at her. A 'commoner' student at a rich school like this is an odd sight, indeed. She passed a gaggle of girls surrounding two identical boys. She narrowed her eyes at them, feeling disgusted by the attention they were receiving. She never would be able to stand it. L sighed and went into her classroom, sitting in the far back corner. She opened a book that was in Italian and began reading, losing herself in the foreign literature.

L was rather rudely interrupted from her book when the twins from earlier planted themselves before her desk.

"Hey, you're kinda-" "-shabby to be in this school-" "Don't you think?" one said, then the other, and then both. L looked up at them boredly.

"My appearance doesn't matter to me. Now, would you leave me alone?"

The twins laughed and left. L sighed inwardly and went back to her book, discreetly ignoring the teacher's lecture, yet answering the questions flawlessly when called upon.

School was over after what seemed like years for L. She hated being seperated from her cases for so long. Then she remembered what Ryoji had said before she left: "_Oh, and to keep up appearances, stay and study for about an hour or so after school, okay? I'm sure you can handle it!_" and he'd made a thumbs up with that annoyingly optimistic face of his. L sighed in exasperation and and went to find a place to study. The library was very opulent and appealing, but the noise wasn't. She skipped over Music Rooms 1 and 2 also, stopping outside Music Room 3, because it was quiet. L opened the door and almost cried out in frustration when she found six very handsome boys in there.

"Welcome," they all said in unison. L glared at them, and turned to leave. The blonde boy gasped and blocked her from leaving with an incredulous look on his face.

"You're Haruhi Fujioka, aren't you? You're like... infamous! A commoner in a rich school! You must work so hard!"

L found herself sighing a lot lately, especially on the inside. This guy was an idiot.

"Now, I find nothing wrong with homosexuality, okay? Do you enjoy the cool type? Or the lolita, or the strong and silent, or the mischievous? Or... maybe a guy like me?"

"I like people who don't keep me in their clubroom asking idiotic questions," L answered monotonously. The blonde guy went over to the corner, moping. During the process of moving, L was pushed back, into a pedestal with a very intricate vase. The vase dropped and shattered.

"That was an eight million yen vase, you know," one of the boys said. I noticed with a grimace that it was one of those twins from earlier. "It was going to be featured in an auction. You're gonna have to pay for it, you know."

No problem, L thought. She made a lot more than eight million yen with each case she solved.

"Though, we know that you cannot afford it," a black haired guy with glasses said. L inwardly cursed herself. Of course.

The blonde idiot got up and sat grandly in his chair. "Well, you know what they say: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since you cannot pay with money, you shall become the Host Club's dog!"

Oh great, this was a host club, L thought. I can't handle this.

She looked down at the shattered promise of an eight million yen debt. _I was outsmarted, _L thought, _by a vase._

* * *

AN: Dun dun duun... poor L/Haruhi! Hope you enjoyed this!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Aargh!" the revolting man cried out as a hard punch to his gut made him drop his baggie and fall to his knees, coughing up blood. A swift kick to the head by his assailant quickly knocked him out. A black-gloved hand picked up the baggie the man dropped and put it in a different one.

"Uh... Mels, are you sure beating people up will best solve this problem?" the other teenager with the puncher asked, flicking off his gameboy and putting it in his pocket.

"When _isn't _it the best solution? Matt, this guy is a no-good drug dealer that would have dsoon done us in the moment we finally discovered his little hideout. We've been tracking this guy for ages! So _obviously _this is the best course of action. Pick up the evidence bag, Matty, and let's take this creep to the police."

"Is that the greatest idea?" Matt asked nervously. Mello sighed in exasperation and turned to him.

"Why do you question everything I do?"

"For the simple fact that I'm wearing goggles and a shirt that looks like the belonged to Freddy Kruger, and you look like some type of teen biker with all of that leather. People don't trust leather, Mels."

"Just shut the hell up and help me. A simple drug test will clear us of suspicion. Plus, the police know me," Mello said grandly, as if that were a good thing.

"Yeah, they know you as the head of one of the most influential mafias in Japan. Not a very good image, I'd say."

"Hey, our mafia hasn't done anything too bad! Anyway, they don't know what I look like, so how would they connect me to that? They'll be on our side, you'll see." Mello picked the guy up off of the ground and held him easily as he began walking towards the police station. Matt shook his head at his friend's stubbornness and followed after him, holding the bag of evidence.

Two interrogations and one drop-off later, Mello and Matt were released from the local police station. Matt had been right; they were a little wary to accept Mello's judgment, but they soon scrapped the idea of his collaboration when all of the signs were pointing away from the teenage mafia members.

Once they were out of the building, Matt went into 'naggy-mom mode', as Mello liked to call it.

"What if our names get on the news or something? That's not something we need! That's like... minus a letter grade!"

"We aren't being graded, idiot. Besides, I had fake ID's made before we took on this case. Look here: your name is John Dorner, and I am Matthew Oster." Mello held up the ID's with a grin.

"John Dorner? Seriously? Why the hell do I get _that_?"

"Hey, hey, Matty! Now don't insult the John Dorners of the world, okay?" Mello narrowed his eyes.

"Whatever." Matt took out his gameboy and switched it on. "Oh, crap, I forgot to save my game!"

"You've finished that game like, once a day for the past year, I think you can live."

Matt just gave him a glare.

"Anyway, I'm can't wait to go rub this success in Near's pompous face," Mello smiled in anticipation.

"Your competition with Near is going a little too far, don't you think?"

"Shut up! It is not! I just don't understand how he could always be so 'perfect' while I'm second! He's always strutting around acting all proud!"

Matt looked confused. "Near is actually quite humble. And, besides, Near rarely even stands."

"Freak," Mello answered. It was unsure whether he was calling Matt or Near that, but Matt just shrugged and focused on his game.

L allowed herself to shut the door more firmly than usual when she finally got home after her first day of school. Ryoji was already awake, enjoying a bowl of wheat cereal. "How was school, honey?"

L didn't answer, just let her schoolbag drop to the ground as she sat in her chair and started up her laptop.

"That bad, huh?" Ryoji asked, with a ghost of a smirk on his face. "Difficult?"

L looked over at him. "No, quite the opposite, actually. It was so boring that I wanted to kill myself. Of course, killing myself would lead to a rise in crime rates by several percentage points, so naturally, I scrapped the idea."

Ryoji raised an eyebrow. "How lovely. Make any friends?"

"No. The only people I talked to were this blonde idiot and these twins. They're in a host club."

"Whoa. Isn't that a little too... adult?"

"I'm sure it's not like that. If it were, I could have it shut down in seconds. But anywho, I'm apparently the host club's dog, having to pay off an eight million yen debt," she said. She typed a little more forcefully on her keyboard as she muttered, "Outsmarted... by a vase."

Ryoji smirked as he stood and went to put his bowl in the sink. L started to type a report to the Scotland Yard. Ryoji came back in and started to read a book. It was about an hour before anything happened, the telephone's ring cutting in through the thick silence, making both of them jump.

L acted first, since it was her cell phone that was ringing. She answered it and held it by her fingertips up to her ear, activating the voice scrambler and tracking signal, to find out where the caller was.

"Hello?" she asked as she analysed the results of the signal; the caller was outside a local police station in Hokkaido.

"Hey, Ryuzaki, what's up?"

"Who is this?"

"Dude, it's Mello! Seriously, you didn't recognise my voice?"

"It's not my job to recognise voices."

"Whatever. I solved that case! The big drug heist here in Hokkaido! Matt helped." Mello sounded extremely proud of himself.

"Good job."

"What, no congrats? No: 'Hey, Mello, you did awesomely?' Nothing?"

"Should I be congratulating you? It is your duty as an agent of justice, you shouldn't need congratulations."

"Fine, got it. I'm gonna tell Near now! Haha! I wish I could see his face!"

"You do that. Don't start anything." L hung up. She resisted the urge to point out to Mello that Near probably solved about three cases in the time it took Mello to complete one. The memory of Beyond laughing insanely as he was led into the Los Angeles penitentiary was too great. Mello and Near's rivalry made her all the more stressed. She didn't want another B turnout, and Mello's criminalistic attitude worried her. She sighed, ignoring Ryoji's worried glance towards her. She was wondering if she was any different.

Because a specialist in investigation is also a specialist in murder...

* * *

AN: That last line was taken from the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases book, so I don't own it. It just sounded pretty cool. Oh, and I forgot to put this at the beginning of the story: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or Death Note. But you have to admit, them mashed together is pretty cool. ^^


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Haruhi! You're a natural!" Tamaki gushed at L, after she completed another day of being the host club's assistant. "You aren't even a host, and yet ladies are asking after you! Perhaps we could use your boyish appearance to our advantage, huh, Kyoya?"

L sighed, clearing a table of tea things. "I don't particularly care about your club's profits," she said in a monotonous tone. Tamaki immediately went over to his 'emo corner' and moped, trying to grow assorted fungus from the walls. L sighed, ignoring her sempai and putting the tea things away. They had found out her true gender, finally, but it seemed like her female status didn't even prevent this ridiculous notion to be borne in Tamaki's mind. The idea of being a host to the stuck-up girls of Ouran Academy filled her with revulsion, messing around with her personal morals.

"In fact, Haruhi, you should be glad for the opportunity. If you were a host, your debt could be repaid quicker," Kyoya pointed out, staring at the young detective. L narrowed her eyes in the slightest display of emotion.

"So it seems..." she responded, musing the possibilities.

By far, Kyoya and Takashi were her favourite hosts. Takashi was quiet and didn't bother her at all, and he shared her rather emotionless demeanor, save for a few small smiles towards his customers. Although Kyoya wasn't even close to her level when it came to intelligence, he was still much smarter than the other idiots she was forced to talk to on a daily basis. It felt nice to share a somewhat intelligent conversation with somebody once in a while, even if it was just about various monetary deals, which was all Kyoya ever really talked about. The twins and Tamaki were extremely annoying to the detective, their mischief and nonsense making absolutely no sense. Tamaki had taken up a habit of calling her his 'daughter' and she fought the urge to tell him that her real father was dead. Also, the twins' act to please their customers messed up with ethics she had learned from extensive dealings with justice. Incest was illegal, after all, and it was difficult to ever watch them when they did those types of things. And while she was very partial to Mitsukuni's diet of overly sweet cakes and things, she found that spending more than her fair due of time with the 'lolita' was increasingly tiring. It was difficult to talk to someone who oozed happiness at such a high degree. It wasn't as if she didn't like him, but she didn't particularly enjoy long periods of time with him.

"That's a great idea, mom!" Tamaki jumped up with a renewed happiness, crushing L in a hug. "From this day forward, Haruhi, my dear daughter, you are the newest host in the club!" L winced at the sudden physical contact.

"Do I not get a say?" she asked coldly, and Tamaki let her go slowly at her tone.

Kyoya shook his head. "No."

"Very well," L sighed inwardly, accepting the idea, knowing that protesting would only waste more of her time.

"Good. You start tomorrow. You can go home now," ordered Kyoya. L didn't hesitate, picking up her bag and leaving the room efficiently.

She opened the door to her apartment with extra force, a habit she had picked up a lot lately. Ryoji, once again, was awake, sitting on the couch in the main room. L set her bag down and looked at Ryoji questioningly as he made his way to stand in front of her.

"I'm worried about you, L," he said. L narrowed her eyes.

"You aren't paid to worry about me. You are paid to act as my guardian."

"Just because I was sort of roped into this job doesn't mean that I can't worry. I see that working for that host club isn't helping you at all, and your work is harrowing on you, I can tell. You need to set aside some time for you to enjoy yourself."

L looked at him, Ryoji stared back unflinchingly. "Crime doesn't set aside time for me to enjoy myself, so why should I? It's bad enough being at school, where I have to wait."

"But going to school was-"

"My idea, I know. Now leave me to my work, if you please," L said in a clipped tone, moving past her guardian to start working on her many cases. Ryoji merely shook his head and went back to the couch, reading his newspaper. Every once in a while he'd look over to L, who kept dissolving sugar cubes on her tongue. He found that she was consuming more and more sweets than the recommended amount, lately. He avoided giving a lecture about healthy eating to the genius, however, figuring that she would be able to take care of herself. Besides, his lecture would probably fall on deaf ears.

They sat in silence, until Ryoji got up to go to work at the tranny bar. He gave a curt farewell, which L only partially acknowledged, not wanting her train of thought to be interrupted. She reached for another sweet. She had probably consumed about five times the daily recommendation of sugar for somebody her age in the last four hours alone. She smirked, despite herself. If only Mitsukuni could see her now.

Soichiro Yagami entered Chief Akasaka's office with the files he had just looked over in his hand. The files about the newest detective on the investigative scene... L.

"Sir, I just got these papers. Are you entirely sure they are correct?"

"Of course." Akasaka looked up from his report.

"I'm sorry, it's just hard to believe."

"I know it is."

"Is L the only thing for a name we have?" Soichiro asked, sitting down. Akasaka grinned.

"It's the only thing for his face, also." He procured a picture of L's signature insignia. Soichiro inspected it in interest. "He is a individual shrouded in mystery, indeed. The number of cases he's solved since his debut over a year ago is astounding. A number such as that can only be attained by a man of a genius intellect. Much like your son, Light-kun."

Soichiro blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I've met Light-kun on several occasions. I know of his impeccable sense of justice, unmatched by any boy of his age I've ever met. I'm sure he'd have the intellectual potential to be L, wouldn't you think? If we were to try and figure out L's identity, then he'd be a good candidate, right?"

Soichiro frowned. "I highly doubt it. Light is a senior in high school now, and looking to go to To-Oh University. School is a very big part of his life, and I don't think he would have the time for all of those cases. And if I remember reading correctly, L solved the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases with the help of an FBI agent. They are an American organisation; how could Light contact them?"

"You're right, forgive me."

"I'm flattered that you think Light could be a detective of such a high caliber, but I'm afraid that's not the case. I don't think that trying to figure out who L is would be such a good idea, anyway. If he hides his name and face, then he wouldn't like us meddling in his business. There isn't any evidence to investigate on, he's too good."

"You're right."

Soichiro stood up. "I'm sorry about bothering you. I'll see you later, sir."

Akasaka smiled in response. "Have a nice day."

Soichiro left the room, looking back down at the papers in his hands. This L fellow was certainly very impressive.

"_Another difficult case solved by the new symbol of justice: L! Crime rates all over the world are dropping with this phenomenon! If only it could last!"_

Mello smirked, turning off the television. It would last. There were three orphans from Whammy's House who had the potential to succeed L once she died. Each one of them had their own unique ability and style that would be beneficial to the world of justice. In the end, it all came down to who L picked, who L thought suited the position the best. And at that moment, it seemed as though big-headed Near would be the one she picked. L and Near were alike in so many ways; they were apathetic, logical, cold, and intelligent. Mello despised the white-haired boy for it. He was always the runner-up to that boy, always just one step behind him. What did it matter that he was not some emotionless freak like Near? Did that make him worse for some reason? He looked over to Matt, who was asleep on the dingy couch in their apartment, his mouth hanging open slightly and his red hair strewn all over his face. Mello narrowed his eyes at his best friend.

Matt. In all truth, Mello didn't think Matt had a chance to become the next L. Matt was very methodical, coordinated and an extremely good hacker, but he was content with being third best every time. He didn't have the attitude to strive above and beyond what he already accomplished. He was all right with being 'average', for lack of a better word. Mello just didn't understand. Didn't he feel pressured, angry with always coming in last? Mello couldn't figure out how Matt could handle that. It all would make him go absolutely crazy.

Mello shrugged, laying down and staring at the ceiling. None of that mattered. He would gain L's acceptance, gradually, and become the next L. And nobody, especially Near, would get in his way.

* * *

AN: Hope you liked the new chapter! Not much really happened... but L's now a host so yay! Oh, and I've been wondering. As all of you know, L dies in Death Note canon, so I'm wondering if I want to have Haruhi/L die in this story too... I mean, I don't want to make it too similar to Death Note, or it'll be a little repetitive. Please leave your suggestions, and see you all next time!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

L's first day of hosting was going well. More people requested her than she expected, much to her delight and dismay. Delight because her quota of 100 people would be met in no time, and dismay because that meant actually talking to people. She wasn't a social person and never really would be, considering before now, the only person she ever interacted with was Whammy (now Watari).

"So, what are your favourite things to eat?" a girl with short black hair and too much neon eyeshadow asked.

Sweets, strawberries, tea sludge, coffee sludge... L immediately fired off in her head. However, she'd never get as many customers if she claimed she liked sweets; Mitsukuni was infamous for his sugar addiction, and was infinitely 'cuter' than her, so she might as well try to be unique so more girls would request her.

"I like potato chips, celery with peanut butter and raisins, and almost-black tea," L answered. She hated most of those things, but it was necessary. Besides, the less people knew about her, the better.

"Really? That's cool, I love potato chips too!" the girl squealed, causing L to cringe on the inside. Why was she so happy about such a small thing? Of course, that's exactly what the host club did... build of the hopes of shallow rich girls and then never follow up on it. L smiled at the girl, hating her situation.

"We have so much in common," L said, trying to not be emotionless or look bored, for that will only create a bad reputation for her. The girl didn't seem to notice anything off about L's tone, for she nodded and giggled.

"Do you mind if I come back to see you tomorrow?" she asked, hope glimmering in her badly makeup-ed eyes. L smiled as genuinely as she could.

"I'd love that."

"I'm going to tell all of my friends about you!" she squealed happily before bowing and leaving. L shuddered inwardly and looked down at her tea, in which she only put three sugar cubes. THREE! That was almost blasphemous to someone like her.

"Oi, Haruhi, come over here, I want you to meet someone!" Tamaki said excitedly, beckoning her over. L stood and went to his side as he gestured to an extremely beautiful girl next to him. For the first time, L was slightly self-conscious about the way she looked.

"This is Princess Ayankoji. She's my most regular customer, and she's been wanting to meet you for quite some time."

L smiled cordially to the Princess, Tamaki looking ecstatic at his two most favourite girls meeting each other for the first time. The Princess smiled back.

"It is so nice to meet you, Haruhi. I've heard a lot about you."

L should have known. She was the world's greatest detective, yet she could not sense schoolyard trouble any more than another person could. She fished through the fountain water, looking for her wallet containing her money and fake identification.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki's voice broke through the sound of the ornate fountain spitting out water, as always. L groaned silently. Why did he have to come?

She straightened up and looked at him. "Yes, sempai?"

"Why are you out here in the fountain? And why is your stuff all wet?"

L almost face-palmed. There was _no way _this guy could make it in her line of work if he couldn't put this two and two together.

"My belongings fell into the fountain, and I am retrieving them," she said in her straight, dead tone, making sure to speak a little slower than usual.

Tamaki looked like he was about to hit himself for his stupidity. "Of course. That should have been obvious." He watched her fumble around in the water a moment longer before he hurriedly rolled up his sleeves and began fishing in the water with her. L looked at him in surprise, but said nothing, continuing her search.

"Is this what you are looking for?" Tamaki held up her painfully simple wallet. L quickly made her way over to him and took it from his grasp.

"Yes, thank you." She got out of the fountain and tried to dry herself off as best she could before Tamaki suddenly took her hand, leading her to the clubroom.

"Kyoya's gonna have it for us if we're late. C'mon!" Tamaki explained as he pulled her along, opening the door grandly.

"The daughter has been found!" he yelled into the room triumphantly, L pulling out of his hold.

"Let us open our doors, then," Kyoya said in a businesslike manner, setting his black notebook aside.

L went to her usual spot by the window, regretfully holding back from putting at least sixteen sugar cubes in her tea. She was upset that the tea was still liquid as she stirred it. Usually she'd put as many as it took for there to be more sugar than tea.

Kyoya opened the doors and L automatically said, "Welcome." She inwardly winced. Oh, great, now she's being like them. L looked over with expertly hidden emotions as Princess Ayankoji came over to her.

"I've requested you today, is that all right?" the girl asked. L nodded absently, stirring her tea some more.

"It's amazing, you know," started Ayankoji. L blinked in confusion as she began running through possibilities in her head about what she could be talking about. "You got Tamaki to help you fish your stuff out of that dirty pondwater. Unbelievable."

L narrowed her eyes. "I take that as a confession, then?"

"Confession towards what? Nobody's going to believe you. Even if you do your 'aww pity me, I'm so poor' act, it's not going to amount to anything. You are a peasant in a rich person's paradise, just dirtying up the place."

"I see. I hate to prove you incorrect, but I hold myself at the pinnacle of personal hygiene."

The Princess scowled in a way most unpleasant to her beauty. "Tamaki only pities you because you are dirt poor. It's not like he actually cares for you," she said, almost to herself. L smiled slightly.

"You are jealous," she said bluntly.

Ayankoji gasped. "No, I'm not, you little... you worthless peasant!" she hissed.

"You are only digging yourself deeper," L commented boredly.

In a fit of sheer rage and shock, she tipped the table, causing L to fall, rather unfortunately, on top of her.

"Ahhh!" the Princess shrieked, causing the other hosts to look upon the scene. "Haruhi's trying to molest me!"

Tamaki got up quickly as the twins went to grab a bucket.

"Tamaki! Save me from this commoner trash! They're all the same, I knew it!"

Hikaru and Kaoru appeared with their bucket and dumped water all over the Princess' head. She cried out in shock. "What the hell do you two demons think you're doing?"

Tamaki helped Ayankoji up, leaving L on the floor.

"Leave. You aren't allowed here again. You were the one who dropped Haruhi's bag in the fountain, weren't you? I will not tolerate such actions," he said, the sternest L had ever seen him. Ayankoji started to protest, but with a look from Tamaki, she eventually gave up and leaned in close to L, who had gotten up.

"You will pay for this," she promised with a murderous look in her eye that didn't intimidate L at all. She had seen Beyond's rage, after all.

L smiled, making sure none of the hosts were looking her way, before leaning in to whisper in the girl's ear.

"You should definitely not be jealous of me."

"Here's a new uniform, Haruhi. Oh, and since we had to pay for that, I'm raising your quota to 1000 requests, got it?" Tamaki said with a goofy smile on his face. L sighed. Of course there was a catch.

It seemed like she would have to stick with the host club for a while longer.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but here you are! Some high school drama that our favourite detective had to cope with~! See you all next time!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was about halfway through the first semester of school, and L was completely burnt out. Between her work, school and the host club, she had no time to even sleep or eat properly. She refused to let Ryoji worry about her, however, so she covered up the darkening bags under her eyes with concealer and made sure he never knew that she spent all of her nights working.

The weekend had arrived, and L was happy that she might be able to get at least a little sleep. However, it seemed like fate was against her, for Tamaki had set up a small weekend vacation of just the host club. It had something to do with funds and such, but L didn't care, allowing the disappointment to envelope her as she dreaded the weekend with the six idiots who were the host club. Tamaki announced that he'd pick her up at promptly ten o'clock. L quickly did the concealing makeup, finding it harder and harder to perfectly conceal the growing darkness under her eyes as they got worse from the lack of sleep. L gritted her teeth, determined to not let some need such as sleep stop her.

She packed a small bag, putting her laptop in the bottom with some of her clothes and her extra bottle of concealer over it. A horn from outside signaled her that Tamaki was there. With a sigh, she slung her bag over her shoulder and left the small apartment, going into the limo. The rest of the host club was there already, smiling widely. Well, except for Tamaki, whose exaggerated gloom settled upon the entire interior of the car.

"What's wrong with him?" L asked, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"We will be staying at Master Umehito Nekozawa's mansion. Nekozawa-sempai scares Tamaki rather witless, I'm afraid," Kyoya answered, looking down at his clipboard.

"I thought we were staying at Morinozuka-sempai's place," L said curtly, not caring about Tamaki's little fear.

"Plans changed. It doesn't matter, though. I doubt we will see much of Nekozawa-sempai anyway."

L nodded absently. "I see." She wasn't too thrilled about going to a manor of someone she had only heard of, but she knew that rejecting the invitation would only get her farther into her debt, something she wasn't too happy about.

After a short while, they arrived in front of a large, emotionless mansion. It was tall, dark, yet had a lightness to it that didn't seem fitting for Nekozawa's reputation.

On the inside, it was fabulously ornamented, as all rich homes were, and there were many figurines, busts and paintings of cats. L pondered on that, intending to do a bit of research on the Nekozawa family when she was alone.

"Here is your room, Mister Fujioka," said one of the maids, directing L to a large guest room, empty and dark. L bowed respectfully and went inside to unpack her few belongings, hiding her laptop under a floorboard lest anyone come in and find it. She _definitely _did not need that.

The rest of the day was just plain bothersome to the young detective, forced to participate in 'commoner' games that Tamaki had researched, ate an overly complicated and sugar-less dinner (except for Mitsukuni, who was allowed to have an assortment of cakes as long as he brushed his teeth afterwards), and listened to grand tales that Tamaki made up on the spot. She was then allowed to retire for the night, to her relief. Being away from her work always made her anxious. L entered her room and undid the floorboards, sitting on the floor in her unusual fashion, bringing the blanket around her for warmth.

L worked well into the night, when a storm began to brew. The first clap of thunder startled her slightly, she had been so immersed into her work that she didn't even notice the storm raging outside. Her jump caused the empty picture frame on the bedside table next to her to fall to the ground, making a thumping noise. After a few moments, L heard somebody coming, and she quickly hid her computer back under the floorboards, just as Tamaki came in.

"Haruhi! Why are you on the ground? I heard a noise, are you okay? You must have fallen off the bed!" Tamaki rushed over to L, kneeling down. L's eyes darkened slightly, though it did look like she would have fallen, the sheet tangled in her form as she sat on the ground. She quickly ran through options in her head as to what an explanation for her situation could be. She heard the storm begin raging again outside, and she began to tremble as she made her decision.

"I'm sorry... I'm scared of thunder... but you needn't bother yourself with me, Tamaki-sempai," L made up on the spot, trying to put fear into her usually emotionless eyes. It looked like Tamaki was completely fooled, for he suddenly embraced her.

"It's okay, Haruhi! I'm here for you!"

L sighed inwardly, though she found that Tamaki's embrace actually made her feel... well... happy. She was never really hugged, at the orphanage or anywhere, so close contact made her feel uncomfortable, but Tamaki's idiotic compassion was different.

Even though she felt that way, L was incredibly relieved when the storm ended and Tamaki left after saying a few more comforting words. She waited until he left and went right back to work.

The rest of the weekend went rather smoothly, and L was ecstatic when she found that she could return home. Once she entered the threshold of her abode, she quickly went over to sit down on the couch, closing her eyes briefly, trying to get over her rather eventful weekend.

"Haruhi," Ryoji's voice sounded from behind her. It was stern, unlike his usual tone. L sighed and turned to look at him. He smiled grimly.

"Nice to see you're back. But did you forget something?"

L blinked. "What do you mean, Ryoji?"

Ryoji merely held up the half-used bottle of makeup that she had used every day for the past month. L narrowed her eyes. "You were in my room," she accused.

"Actually, no, you left it in the bathroom when you left Saturday morning."

L sighed, standing up and swiping the bottle from his outstretched hand.

"You've been covering up the obvious sign of bad health. The bags under your eyes, the gaunt paleness of your face. You haven't been eating right and you never sleep because you are working."

"And? It is not any of your business."

"I rather think it is, my dear, I am your guardian, after all."

"My _acting _guardian," L said with a hard look.

"Go to sleep."

"I have five cases right now that need solving. Look, if I manage to finish solving perhaps two or three early, I will try to sleep. Now, I've had a long and rather monotonous weekend and I'd like to work in peace, if you please," explained L. Ryoji smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Very well. But please, do look after yourself, will you?"

"I have been doing that all along."

Ryoji nodded in approval and left the room, presumably to get ready for work. L just sighed and looked at the screen of her computer, before shutting the lid and leaning back into the couch, closing her eyes.

Ryoji came out in full tranny garb to find the world's greatest detective curled into herself on the couch in slumber. She looked much younger when her deep and wise eyes were closed, he noticed, as he took a blanket from the chair next to her and draped it over his young charge. He smiled and kissed her forehead in a fatherly manner before moving out to go to work.

"Sweet dreams, L."

* * *

AN: Woooh how clever is little L, making up a thunderstorm fear to cover up her nightly work? Hope you liked the newest installment of _Haruhi Fujioka is L_! See you all next time!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Sorry for the wait! I can just say that the first six chapters are kind of like a prologue, and this chapter marks the beginning of the actual story, wooh! It is March in this chapter, about three and a half months from last chapter's events, and Haruhi/L hasn't been to school at all until this chapter. So obviously, some people are worried about her. Enjoy Chapter 7, and I am grateful to all who have reviewed, favourited and followed!

* * *

Chapter 7

"Mr. Fujioka!" hissed Kumitsu-sensei. "What do you think you're doing?"

L turned to look at the teacher as he continued his speech. "There is no way you are going to be able to pass this exam! You've been absent from class for an entire three months, ever since the second semester began. And you expect me to let you take this test?"

"That is the plan," said L blandly, letting her eyes narrow just slightly.

Kumitsu-sensei sighed. "I don't understand, but fine. I'll let you take the test. You are sitting over there," he pointed to a rather simple square table with an ornate wooden partition separating the tabletop to four corner, to prevent cheating. "With the Hitachiins and Hinata-san."

L nodded, slightly nervous. She hadn't seen any of the host club for three months, so if they saw her now... she shuddered. In order to keep up with her growing workload, L had taken to skipping each day of school, only coming on exam days. This was the first test day that semester, and she was determined to get it finished quickly so she could leave early. She had been avoiding anybody who might know her, not even wearing her uniform to avoid instant recognition. Instead, she wore slightly baggy blue-jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of glasses that distorted her vision slightly. She didn't bother brushing her hair or putting on any of her concealing makeup in order to make herself as indistinguishable as possible.

She made her way over to the table, sitting at the place marked 'Fujioka'. Both Kaoru and Hikaru were already seated, talking to each other. She was careful to ensure that they didn't notice her until she sat down.

Hikaru perked up, leaning past the partition to speak to his twin.

"Do you think that's Haruhi?" he asked.

Kaoru shook his head. "It's probably just Hinata-san."

"Yeah..." Hikaru looked down, dejected. "I can't believe how long its been."

"Me neither. Kyoya says she'll get expelled soon if she doesn't turn in any impressive test scores. But how could she do that if she hasn't learned any of it yet?"

"Seems a little mean to me. What if she's really, really, REALLY sick?" Hikaru said. "Or maybe she was kidnapped!"

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like Boss...," pointed out Kaoru. Hikaru frowned.

"Everybody, stop talking, I'm handing out the test now!" Kumitsu-sensei ordered, passing out the mathematics exam. Kaoru was a little nervous, but he'd studied, so it shouldn't be that bad. Kumitsu-sensei frowned at the posture of the previously MIA detective; she was sitting with one knee to her chest, holding her pencil by the very tips of her fingers. He gave her the test and she began it quickly, wanting to get it finished as swiftly and accurately as possible. She did most of the problems in her head with ease, not even bothering to put up pretense of normal intellect as she had often done in the past.

L finished the test in just under ten minutes, standing up quietly and going up to turn the test in. Hikaru heard the small noise and looked up for a moment, gasping silently in surprise as he recognised Haruhi, despite her precautions. He stared down at his math paper, littered with scratch work, feeling like he wouldn't be able to really concentrate on his test anymore.

L handed her finished exam to Kumitsu-sensei and left without another word. The teacher narrowed his eyes in slight worry. Was the test too hard for the honour student? He didn't want to have to see Haruhi get expelled, but he was going to turn in her test score anyway. Kumitsu turned his attention to the test, beginning to grade it. He noticed that there was no work written down on the test, like he would expected it to be. He shrugged and checked the answers, growing more and more stunned as he found that every answer was correct. How was that even possible? No work, only ten minutes, and Fujioka had finished the test with perfect scores? It was almost too outrageous to be true. He sighed in relief, knowing that Haruhi wouldn't get expelled with this score.

Class ended an hour later, and Hikaru was absolutely sure he ended up bombing the test. Not just because he wasn't ready for it, but also because he had seen Haruhi. He pulled Kaoru to the clubroom where the rest of the host club gathered for lunch that day, sitting down on one of the expensive couches. Kyoya was analytically observing the television; the news, to be exact.

Hikaru waited for everybody to settle down before he made his announcement.

"Um... guys... I saw Haruhi today," he said nervously.

Everybody except Mori and Kyoya gasped.

"IS SHE OKAY?" Tamaki practically screamed at the twin. Hikaru shrugged.

"I didn't really get a good look at her...she just came to math class to take that test. She left about ten minutes after the test got passed out."

Kyoya 'hmm'd in thought. "It seems as though she was aware that if she doesn't get good test scores she'll be expelled. Do you have any idea of what grade she might have received?"

Hikaru frowned. "She left really early, so she probably gave up. It was a pretty hard test."

Tamaki sighed in distress. "My poor daughter, having to be cut from our beautiful academy to go back to the destitute life she lives at home!" he said dramatically.

"I'm sure it's not like that," Kyoya said absently, watching as another news story about L appeared. The rest of the host club watched as the reporter recited the story excitedly; how amazing L was, solving so many cases in such a small amount of time. Kyoya narrowed his eyes, still very intrigued by the elusive detective. He had sent out professional search divisions to find out the identity of L about a month earlier, but so far, his best teams had found out absolutely nothing.

"That guy is good," Kaoru commented. "Didn't think it was possible to solve cases without giving out your name or face. I bet that's gonna come in handy someday: nobody knowing who he is and stuff."

Tamaki nodded, not really listening as he worried needlessly over his 'daughter', Haruhi, who was currently going through the threshold of her apartment to begin her never-ending work again.

The bored student sat with his head in his hand as he stared at the teacher, not focusing. Class was becoming easier and easier, much to his dismay. He shifted his gaze to the window, looking out.

Suddenly, his vision sharpened as he observed a dark object falling from the sky.

_A notebook? _He thought with interest. _Did someone on the top floor drop it? _

He kept watching, but nobody went outside to claim it. He found the entire situation to be largely interesting compared to the daily mundane life of school, so after school was over he went to the place where he'd seen the notebook fall. He wasn't seriously expecting it to still be there, but sure enough, there it was. He bent down and picked it up.

_Death Note? _He read on the cover of the book. He opened it slowly, to find that there was a list of rules, written all in English.

_Ugh, English, what a pain. The human whose name is written in this note shall die. _

The student scoffed. What a load of rubbish. Still... the notebook had drawn him in, and he was reluctant to just put it back on the ground again. He decided that he'd throw it away once he got home, walking to his house with nothing but the ominous words in his head.

Once he got to his room, he locked the door, sitting at his desk and switching on the television. He amused himself by reading some more of the rules in the Death Note before it made it fated journey into his wastebasket.

A story on the television caught his attention; it seemed as if a man was keeping young children hostage inside a school. The man's face and name was displayed on the screen, and the student narrowed his eyes. Surely this notebook must be fake, but what would it hurt to give it a test?

The boy took out his fountain pen and wrote the name of the guy in the notebook, keeping his face firmly locked in his mind.

_Now all I have to do is wait forty seconds... _

Counting the time on his watch, the student smiled triumphantly as nothing happened when the second hand reached the forty second mark. _Ha, I knew it was a hoax!_

All of a sudden, the reporter's voice became happier as as the children came filing out, the police going into the building.

"_Ah, it seems as though the culprit has died of a heart attack! How lucky were those children, huh?"_

The student couldn't believe what he had heard. He had just killed someone. No... no, it must be a coincidence.

He left his house and went out to the general store, just as he noticed a beautiful young woman being harassed by several bikers. One of the leader's lackeys called out the leader's name, and the student hurriedly wrote the name down, with 'accident' beside it. After spelling it wrong a few times, the biker was suddenly hit by a bus, with the lady safe.

The student left the store quickly and went back home, the weight of two indirect murders on his shoulders. He was distressed. The Death Note really did work...

He really didn't want to use it, but it seemed as though he could help the world with it. Vigilante justice, as it were. He smiled with the realisation of his next goal.

Light Yagami would cleanse the Earth of injustice, and become the god of the new world.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"I have an idea!" Tamaki said grandly. "It has to be the best idea ever!"

The host club were sitting in the clubroom on the couches. Honey was busy scarfing down various cakes, with Mori beside him being his usual quiet self. The twins stared at the club leader, waiting for his ridiculous bomb of an idea to drop. Kyoya looked up from his notebook at Tamaki questioningly.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

"The whole detective thing is kinda cool, you know! Ever since we saw that story about L, I was thinking that maybe we could do stuff like that too!" Tamaki smiled from ear to ear excitedly.

"What makes you think we could do anything concerning investigation?" Kyoya asked disbelievingly. "We are a little too young, don't you think?"

"I'm sure we could all work no matter our age! It's for justice!" Hikaru chimed in.

"And we have the outfits from that one cosplay in October!" Kaoru added.

Tamaki gestured to them while staring at Kyoya like 'see? They're on board!'.

Kyoya sighed. "How would we even begin?"

"We could make up a name for our awesome crime-fighting group! And then help out the police or something!"

"Do you realise how impossible that is?" Kyoya frowned.

"Couldn't you pull some strings in your family to make it happen? Make it official?" Kaoru suggested.

Kyoya sighed. "I could... but it doesn't particularly mean I should."

"If we make this group, you might be able to get more stuff on L than what you know now...," Hikaru said cunningly with a grin. Kyoya scowled slightly. The prospect did seem better when put that way...

"Fine. I can try. But don't expect anything too grand. We might be able to be assistants for some of my family members in the police, but that involves filing and getting coffee for them."

"I don't mind!" Tamaki said excitedly. "Once we prove ourselves, they might let us help them on harder stuff!"

"Don't count on it," Kyoya warned. "But if you are so enthusiastic, I can't say no."

"Yes! Are you all in?" Tamaki directed his question to the rest of the group.

Hikaru and Kaoru grinned. "With Boss all the way!" they said simultaneously.

Honey shrugged. "Sounds fun!"

"Yes," Mori said curtly.

"Then its settled!" Tamaki was practically shaking with anticipation.

"No hoarding all of the fun... I am rather interested also..." said a voice from behind Tamaki. Hikaru and Kaoru had noticed the eccentric senior behind him before and kept from laughing.

Tamaki squealed and jumped, looking behind him. "N-n-nekozawa-sempai!" he screeched.

"Hello, Nekozawa-sempai," said Kyoya politely, as if he knew all along that he was there.

"Hey, did you wanna join our crime-fighting force?" Hikaru asked. Tamaki gave him a 'nooooooo!' look, and Hikaru smirked. "Boss would just _love _for you to join!"

"Is that so?" Nekozawa smiled. "How kind."

"B-but we're completely full, unfortunately! So just leave now, sorry!" Tamaki said quickly.

"Nonsense," Kyoya interjected. "There's plenty of room."

Tamaki narrowed his eyes as he hissed at the glasses-wearing friend. "Whose side are you on?"

"The side of efficiency, Tamaki. More people would equal more success. Besides, Nekozawa-sempai has talents that may be of use to us."

"Yes..." Nekozawa agreed, sitting down next to Tamaki, who shied away from him.

"Then it's settled." Kyoya smiled slightly.

The new events were certainly very... intriguing to the young detective. So far, at least thirty convicted criminals had suddenly and randomly had fatal cardiac arrest. A lot of people called it a coincidence, but L did not believe in coincidences. Matt had been gracious enough to get her the files of each instance, because he loved hacking and she had no time to do it herself. She scanned the reports of the local police in each area critically, trying to find something in common. Perhaps it was a drug, distributed by a vigilante-type organisation. Though the signs pointed away from that conclusion, it seemed almost impossible for someone to do this all alone.

L narrowed her eyes, happy to find a case that was finally difficult enough for her skills. Before long, if these circumstances continue to occur, the NPA would have to call on her for help. She might as well get a head start before that happened.

* * *

AN: I apologise for shortness and lateness in general, but this is an important chapter nevertheless because this is where the ouran folks come in concerning the whole Kira matter. ^^ I would have updated yesterday, but the internet was down, unfortunately. I'll try and update again soon, probably tomorrow. See you all next time, and I hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Finally, Kyoya's persistence paid off. Several of his family members who were in the force permitted the host club (plus Nekozawa) to help out around the police offices. Most of the things they were allowed to do was exactly as Kyoya had predicted; filing and getting coffee for the police. The twins constantly complained, causing Kyoya to remind them that they were totally on board for the idea in the first place. Tamaki was very much enjoying his new job, but Nekozawa made Tamaki and the force uncomfortable, for obvious reasons.

"I got the perfect name!" Tamaki yelled one day after the club closed. "Force for Justice!" He thrust his arms out grandly. "Huh?"

"Boss, all we're doing is intern work. I'm not sure we should even have a name," Hikaru protested.

"But we'll need a name when we start doing important stuff! FFJ for short!"

Kyoya rolled his eyes. He thought the prospect of an acronym-ed name was extremely childish, but he didn't bother arguing with his blonde friend. Once Tamaki was set on an idea, he didn't want to ever change his mind.

"I think it's great!" Honey agreed, smiling widely as Mori gave his usual grunt. Kaoru shrugged in indifference and Hikaru still didn't get why Tamaki was making a big deal out of their work.

"Hey!" an officer named Aizawa came up to them. "Stop goofing off and get that filing work done already; it's due tomorrow!"

"Yessir!" Tamaki said with a salute. Aizawa made a face and moved on to talk to the police chief.

"I hate that guy," Hikaru complained. "Somebody needs to stuff his head in a kiln."

"SHH!" Tamaki held his finger to his lips in a quieting gesture. "Do you seriously want to get in trouble with him? I don't want to risk this job!"

"We're being paid for less than the minimum wage to do all of the boring work his highness Aizawa doesn't want to do," Hikaru protested, his voice quieter.

Kyoya sighed, straightening up the disheveled pile of papers the twins had stacked. "It is something similar to internship. We're lucky we're being paid at all. And if you didn't want to do a little bit of office work, then you shouldn't have agreed to go with Tamaki's plan."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes, but he knew that Kyoya was right.

"Do you think we'll see Haruhi again?" Kaoru said, trying to make conversation.

Tamaki instantly saddened. It was deathly apparent that he missed the girl who seemed completely immune to his charms.

"From what I've heard, the only reason she's even still enrolled in Ouran Academy is because of her outstanding-and perfect- test scores," Hikaru supplied. "But I haven't seen her since that mathematics test a couple of months ago."

"I miss Haru-chan..." Honey pouted, causing Mori to rub his back in a comforting gesture.

"We all do," Tamaki added. Kyoya looked down, seeming preoccupied with his work, but he was actually thinking. He felt a hint of jealousy in the back of his mind. He was always near the top of his class... but he studied generously to keep himself at the top. So how was it that Haruhi didn't even come to class and yet got such high scores?

"You alright, Kyo-chan?" Honey asked. Kyoya looked up with a small smile.

"Of course, Honey. Don't worry, I'd just like to get this work finished."

Honey nodded his head in agreement as he continued working, the others following suit.

Near, Mello and Matt arrived at the apartment where L was currently staying. Mello looked at the place with slight disgust.

"Geez, you'd think a rich detective could afford a better place like this," he remarked. Near sighed and moved forward to ring the doorbell.

"It's for her cover, you know."

"Yes, I know that, Mr. 'I'm Near and I know it all!'," said Mello with a glare towards his rival. Matt held back a snicker. It seemed like Mello couldn't get along with the white-haired boy to save his life.

The door was opened and Ryoji stood in the hallway, his hair slightly disheveled and a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Hey Ryo, I'm coming in." Mello pushed past the stunned guardian as Near and Matt followed him to find L on the couch with her sweets and computer, as always. Ryoji shut the door and went back to the bathroom for a moment as Mello plopped down on the couch next to his idol.

L raised her eyes from her computer to stare at Mello. "What are you doing here? I figured that I wouldn't expect you until later."

Mello grinned. "Well, that Kira thing is kind of interesting, we were just wondering if you were interested in it too."

"And a simple phone call wouldn't have sufficed?" L asked, picking up a strawberry and looking at it.

"_Matt_," Mello said in a tone that implied that Matt was at fault for something, "got our phones crushed."

Matt gave Mello a look and defended himself. "It wasn't entirely my fault that Mello wanted me to hold both phones! And Mello was the one who got us in the situation in the first place! He provoked two goons to come after us with guns, and I convinced Mello to run, and while we were running, our phones fell out of my pockets and got ran over by a few cars. The important thing is that we didn't get shot... or worse!"

Mello sighed. "Life's not all tea and cookies, Matt, you should know that by now. Stop getting distressed over the smallest things."

Matt opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it, resorting to glaring holes into the wall.

L ate her strawberry and looked at Near. "I wouldn't expect you to be here with them," she observed. Near sat down on the chair where Ryoji usually sat.

"I came because the Kira dilemma interests me also."

"Hmm..." L mused, eating another strawberry.

"So, are you gonna take that case? It seems pretty hard, and we don't even have the full information, just bits and pieces I was able to get once in a while." Matt looked at L curiously.

"Yeah, it's just the thing you need!" Mello agreed, not wanting to be outdone.

L frowned. "It _is _just the thing I need. But all of you didn't come here to propose to me a case which I started weeks ago."

"Weeks ago?" Matt asked incredulously. "Weeks ago, this case seemed like mad coincidence to me."

"I don't believe in coincidences," L reminded him, her stare unblinking. "As I was saying, you all came here because you want to help."

Mello shrugged. "Obviously."

"I am not sure I want to allow you to do that."

"What?!" Mello stood up indignantly. "Why?"

"From the evidence, Kira can kill from afar. All I need to do is find a way to prove it. However, if that is true, I don't need you three getting roped into something that can get you killed."

"That's so thoughtful of you," Matt said, trying to put the bad news into a better light before Mello exploded.

"He needs a name and a face to kill, though. We all have fake names," Near interjected from his listening perch.

L looked at him. "What did you say? A name... and a face?" Now that she thought about it, that did make sense... every one of Kira's reported victims had been on the news with their name and a picture of their face with it. There were far more dangerous criminals that hadn't been put out into the public mainstream that also had not been killed.

"If we could find a way to prove that Kira can kill from afar, and that he needs a name and a face, then can we continue helping on this case?" Near proposed in a business-like manner.

L sighed. "I suppose. The NPA is going to try and contact me any day now, Watari says, and after that, Kira is going to know I'm after him and he'll see me as a threat. I have a plan already for when that happens. In about a week, a convict named Lind L. Tailor is going to be executed. I plan on using him... perhaps a day before the execution date, to pose as me. If Kira regards me as a threat- and I plan on having his name and face displayed clearly in the broadcast- he would jump at the chance to be rid of me."

"And then you could prove he can kill from far away!" Mello said excitedly. "But... how is that going to prove he needs a face and a name? Just because his name is going to be displayed doesn't necessarily mean that Kira _needs _it."

"Perhaps you could then appear next?" Near suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... if Lind L. Tailor is killed, then Kira would feel triumph, thinking that he vanquished L. But if you with your L insignia and scrambled voice were to appear seconds later... then he would feel more desperate, knowing that you were able to show to the entire world that Kira can kill without being there."

"I see... That is a good idea. I could taunt him into trying to kill me... but he obviously doesn't know my name or my face..."

"Exactly," said Near. "And once it is clear that he can't kill you, you've proven that he needs those two things."

L nodded. "Risky, but I'm sure no harm is going to come of me. Though I'm not going to broadcast it to the whole world. I'm just saying that I will. Kira's first murder, that I can recall, was a man holding children hostage in a school, in the Kanto region of Japan. It is very likely that Kira is in that region."

Her successors nodded their agreement.

Mello frowned. "So we basically have to wait until the NPA contacts you?"

"Watari is keeping tabs on them, so when they consider asking me for help, he will be there to tell them I am on board."

"Okay... So how's school?" Mello asked with a smirk. L narrowed her eyes at the mention of school.

"I have taken to skipping every day except test days."

"Wouldn't that get you expelled or something?" Matt asked, confused.

"It would, under normal circumstances. However, I take personal care to achieve the highest score possible on these exams."

"Um... aren't you supposed to be staying inconspicuous? I hardly think showing off your superior intelligence is keeping you under the radar," Mello said disapprovingly.

"The only reason I'm keeping my position in that school is so I can use it whenever I wish. Connections, pawns, anything. And since I don't have time to go to school for eight hours a day and act as if I'm living in squalor, I decided to ignore it entirely. The only way I can ensure my position there is to get outstanding grades on the tests. I'm bringing up the average by almost ten percent, and they probably view me as an asset. Especially if teachers' bonuses depend on the students' performance on nationwide exams, which are coming up in a matter of weeks."

"Okie dokie then," Matt said dismissively, with a shake of his hand. "We should probably get going. We'll be back later to see how you're doing."

L nodded. "Thank you. I'll see you later."

The three successors left the apartment without much more to say, as L began working again.

Ryoji came in; he had decided to stay back and instead listen to their conversation rather than be in the room and be expected to participate.

"Nervous?" he asked, sitting in his chair which Near had previously occupied.

"Not particularly," L answered, not lifting her gaze from her work.

"Hey... what about that host club dealio thing you were caught up in? Have you given up on that too?"

L bit her thumb with another sigh. "I don't have time to be participating in any recreational activity. Besides, I wasn't part of the host club by choice, and over half of them annoyed me a great deal."

"Aren't you worried that they'll miss you?"

"It's been almost three months, they have probably gotten over me by now."

"But what if they haven't? What if they decide to visit sometime? That Ohtori boy is bound to know where we are living, right?"

"Yes, but if they haven't visited by now, I doubt they ever will."

Ryoji frowned as he picked up an abandoned crossword puzzle. "If you say so. Just be careful, okay? And try to get some rest, for goodness sakes, you look like a raccoon!"

L allowed herself a small smile at Ryoji's comment. But the conversation they had just shared was a little unsettling... what if the host club really did miss her? And did she miss them?

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AN: I am very sorry for the long wait (at least by my standards), it's just I didn't really know where I wanted to go with this chapter. I am pleased with the final result, though. I cannot express enough my gratitude for everyone who has been reading this story, and I value any input you have! So if you have any suggestions, do not be afraid to share them! I need as much motivation and creativity on this story as I can get. Thank you all, and I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"All of you can take the rest of the day off. I have to go to a very important NPA meeting, and I probably won't be back until after your hours are up," Aizawa said in a gruff voice. Tamaki looked disappointed, and the twins gave relieved grins to each other.

"What's your meeting about?" asked Honey, blinking his large doe-brown eyes at him. Aizawa wasn't intending to answer, but Honey's innocent little act made him crumple.

"I'll tell you, but you can't say anything about it, alright?" Aizawa asked. Everyone nodded, even the twins, who were interested.

"It's about those mysterious murders of criminals. Kira. At least, that is what the mainstream news is calling him. We are going to decide the best course of action to take concerning discovering his identity and apprehending him. This has gone too far for us to do nothing," Aizawa glanced around, knowing he could very well be fired if anyone caught him giving confidential information to high school students.

"Are you going to ask the Ohtori detectives for assistance?" Kyoya asked, pretending to be nonchalant, but secretly very interested in the answer.

"Probably," Aizawa replied. "But we also may ask L if that doesn't work out. This type of case isn't a normal one. Regular detectives might be overwhelmed and have no idea of how to proceed. And we all know L isn't a regular detective. Who knows, maybe he's grown interested in it already."

"Hmm." Kyoya said nothing more. The police officers words slightly angered him; the assumption that the best detectives in Japan, the ones from his own family, would not be able to handle the Kira case was something that Kyoya couldn't believe. And thinking that L could do any better was equally as preposterous. Kyoya couldn't deny that L was a brilliant detective, but Kyoya did not like the reverence towards him in the police world.

"Okay then! Let's get out of this place," said Hikaru, stretching and beginning to walk to the door.

"But I don't want to leave!" Tamaki cried. "This is all so cool! Almost as cool as the commoner world!"

Aizawa rolled his eyes and put on his jacket. "Tell Shinju-san to lock up after you go," he ordered before grabbing his work phone and leaving.

Kaoru and Hikaru had to practically pry Tamaki from Aizawa's desk, giving Aizawa's order to the janitor before they all left the building. The group hopped into the limousine owned by the Hitachiins. Tamaki moped in a corner, Kyoya began doing his regular accounting, Honey ate the candies Mori had with him and the twins teased Tamaki. Nekozawa would have joined in, but he decided to sit in another corner and turn that entire side of the vehicle black and gloomy.

"Noooooo! I was looking forward to working at the police station today, to get closer to real investigative work, to change the world!" Tamaki wailed after a few minutes of the twins' teasing. "My life stinks! I had to wear my backup dress shirt because I spilt barbecue sauce on it, and then I tripped in the parking lot and got a scratch on my arm!" He held out his arm. By the noise he was making, people would have thought he was shot or something. "And then we have to go home early, I have a history test tomorrow that I haven't studied for and Haruhi's still missing!"

"Haruhi isn't _missing_," Kyoya corrected. "She still lives in the same place. All she's doing is not attending school."

Tamaki began to dramatically fake-cry, trying to express his complete and utter sadness. "MY DAUGHTER COULD BE SICK OR DYING OR ENSLAVED BY BRAIN-SUCKING ALIENS!"

"Tama-chan, if you miss Haru-chan so much, why don't we visit her?" Honey suggested happily from Mori's lap.

Tamaki immediately stopped his 'sobbing' and assumed a business-like attitude. "That's it! Where does my beautiful Haruhi live, mom?" He turned to Kyoya, who turned a few pages back in his notebook.

"Here." He showed Tamaki the address, and Tamaki immediately yelled the information up to the driver as if his life depended on it. Kaoru and Hikaru exchanged glances.

"Perhaps we shouldn't go," Kaoru said. "If she hasn't been coming to school and takes so much trouble to not be seen on the days she does go... then it's obvious that she doesn't want to be disturbed."

"You traitor!" Tamaki cried. "My daughter is sick and you dare suggest we not go check on her?"

"We don't know she's sick," Hikaru pointed out. "You're just being a drama... king." He smirked in amusement.

Tamaki covered his ears. "I will not let you fiends change my mind!"

"Who is Haruhi?" Nekozawa spoke up. Everybody, except Kyoya and Mori, had forgotten he was there and jumped at the sound of his smooth voice.

"Haruhi is the commoner scholarship student. She's technically still part of the host club because she hasn't paid her debt off yet," answered Kyoya. "You probably would have met her if she stayed around at school."

"Ah. Okay then." Nekozawa went back to his gloom and the others swore the car felt colder than it did before.

In no time, the limousine pulled up in front of a rather neat, but small, apartment complex. Tamaki looked at it in horror.

"My daughter lives here? A princess like that needs a castle!" he said grandly.

"It could be worse," said Kaoru. "I've seen places a thousand times worse than this."

"Um... Haruhi?" Ryoji asked from his place at the window.

"Yes?" L asked without glancing up.

"There's a rather... nice limousine-looking thing outside."

"It could be for somebody else," L reasoned, but she was already putting her computer away. She had a hunch that it was, in fact, not for somebody else. "Do you see any people?"

"Not yet... oh, wait, yeah. There's a blonde guy who looks like he's yelling hysterically, there's a proper looking gentleman who is observing some type of notebook, there are two red-heads... I think they might be twins. And there's this tall black-haired guy with another blonde guy on his back who looks like he belongs in fifth grade. And some creep in a cloak. Don't worry, Haruhi, if they come up here, I'll protect you!"

L groaned quietly. "It's the host club."

Ryoji couldn't hold back his chuckle. "See, I was right when I said they'd try to visit you."

L gave him a glare and went into the bathroom to make herself look more presentable, and not like the eccentric detective she was.

"So you want me to answer the door?" he called back to her as he watched the well-dressed group walk up the stairs to their apartment.

"Fine," L called in answer as she began applying her concealing make-up and brushing her unruly hair. She thought back to the descriptions her 'guardian' had given her. She was sure it was the host club, but she didn't remember any 'creep in a cloak'. She ran through possibilities in her head and decided on a Nekozawa she had seen slinking about in the hallways before school. The club had visited his manor once, but he hadn't shown himself during their entire visit. She had remembered to do her research on him and his family after that trip, as she had promised herself. Yes, she was certain that it was him.

A knock on the door was heard and L took a deep breath, knowing how it was going to play out: Tamaki would worry needlessly over her, Mitsukuni and the twins would bombard her with questions (and Mitsukuni would probably steal some of her sweets...), Takashi would say absolutely nothing, and Kyoya would only inquire as to how she planned to pay off her debt.

L entered the sitting room just as Ryoji opened the door.

"Hello, gentlemen." Ryoji grinned. "How goes it?"

Hikaru looked him over, noticing that Ryoji was dressed in a masculine way. "I thought you were a tranny," he said.

"I received a paid vacation for the next week because I slipped on a wet floor and gave myself a concussion. I said it was the management's fault because they didn't put a wet floor sign there, and they agreed!" Ryoji smiled, proud of himself.

"That's great. WHERE'S HARUHI?!" Tamaki yelled at the top of his lungs, earning a glare from Ryoji. He stepped aside, revealing L sitting normally in her spot on the couch. Tamaki instantly ran in and crushed Haruhi in a hug. "DADDY'S MISSED YOU!"

L ended up pushing her excited sempai off and stood. "It is nice to see you all," she lied smoothly. She walked up to them, looking at them all.

Nekozawa bowed to her. "Hello, Fujioka-san," he greeted with his usual tone.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Nekozawa-sempai," she said in return. "Come in." She led them inside, sitting on the couch again as Ryoji went to make some tea.

As L had predicted, Hikaru started at once to ask questions. "Where have you been?!"

"Here," she answered.

"Why haven't you been coming to school?" Kaoru asked.

"I found school rather unnecessary." That was partially true, but L wasn't going to expand on it.

"Do you realise that you still have your debt to pay? And that if you turn in one unsatisfactory test score, you will be promptly expelled without question?" Kyoya inquired, looking over his glasses at her.

L sighed inwardly. "I am aware of that, and I will pay off my debt in due time, do not worry."

"How?"

"Father is helping me out. And I have come across work."

"Having a job, even part-time, is grounds for expulsion. It's in the rules," Kyoya pointed out.

"I understand that, but I might as well be expelled already, yes?" L fixed him with a stare that made him visibly uncomfortable.

"True," he said simply, looking down at his notebook.

"Please come back, Haruhi! We've missed having you around at the club! Customers are calling on you even today, after you've been gone for so long!" Tamaki cried, grabbing onto her arm. "We formed a police force!"

L's eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean?"

"We merely partake in volunteer work. Filing and the works. I think it was the stupidest idea Boss has ever come up with," complained Hikaru.

"Oh, so you aren't doing anything to do with actual police work?"

"Nope! I love it!" Tamaki smiled widely. "You should join us!"

"Goodness, I'd love to, but I don't have the time." L tried to be as polite as possible. She didn't need to get roped into anything else concerning the host club.

"Please!"

"No. That is my final answer, Suoh-sempai, and I'm not changing it."

Kaoru grinned. "It's useless, Boss. Haruhi's just as stubborn as you are."

Tamaki frowned, realising this. "Please visit the club once in a while, at least!"

L sighed. "Fine. I'll try. But I am very busy."

Tamaki's gloomy expression instantly melted into one of triumph. "Well, we won't bother you any longer! You must have been spending quality time with your father! I know how great father-daughter relationships can be." He closed his eyes and L visualised flower petals swirling all around him, with the way he was talking.

"Let's go!" Tamaki led the way out. The twins gave L a hug, as did Honey. Mori ruffled her hair and Kyoya merely nodded. Nekozawa bowed again before following the rest of the group. L sighed. Luckily, their visit had been a short one, and they were gone even before Ryoji re-entered with the tea.

"They're gone already? I would have expected them to stay longer."

"I did too. However, I am grateful for the circumstances." L poured herself a cup of tea and sipped at it slowly. "I got a message from Watari, just before they showed up. The NPA was considering asking me for my assistance with the Kira dilemma going on lately, and I told him to tell them I was already working on it."

"Are you still going through with that... Lind L. Tailor thing?" Ryoji sat down.

L nodded. "It seems like a better and better idea the more I think about it. Of course, I still thank Near for suggesting the second half of my plan."

"He's a little strange..."

"We're all strange," L replied.

"Haruhi seemed a little different to me," Hikaru said once they were all in the limousine again.

"Yeah... even more detached than usual. Maybe it's because she hasn't been in the social circle of school in a while?" Kaoru mused.

"She said she's been working," Kyoya pointed out. "For that, she'd have to work with people."

"L doesn't have to work with people," Hikaru argued. "He avoids all human contact and prefers to do things electronically."

"L has nothing to do with Haruhi," replied Kyoya, giving Hikaru a look.

"It was just nice seeing my dear daughter again!" Tamaki gushed, stars in his eyes.

"She didn't look too happy to see you, Boss," Kaoru said while chuckling.

Tamaki gave a gasp. "Nonsense! She is absolutely charming! And takes after me!" He turned to Nekozawa, despite his fear of the cloaked young man. "Don't you agree? Don't you find her very charming?"

Nekozawa frowned, in thought. "She certainly seems... smart."

"Well, no duh. She's probably a genius or something," Hikaru said.

"It's just that... I have never met Miss Fujioka before... and she told me: 'It's nice to meet you, Nekozawa-sempai.'. Did any of you ever tell her about me? The only picture of me at my house is that portrait," Nekozawa told them. In all truth, he was a little spooked about the way Haruhi had greeted him, with a flash of recognition in her eyes and a tone that suggested that she knew exactly who he was, and more.

"She was simply being polite, Neko-chan!" Honey said, smiling.

"... Yeah..." Nekozawa let it drop for the moment, tired of speaking and staring out the window. Maybe he was paranoid. Maybe it was because it was very sunny on the last Wednesday of the previous month... He then turned to thinking about how the weather affected him.

The others, save for Kyoya, resumed chattering amongst themselves, about Haruhi, about L, about work, et cetera.

Kyoya merely looked down at his notebook. It seemed as if he was the only one who really understood what Nekozawa had just said. How exactly had Haruhi recognised Nekozawa if she had never met him. Kyoya merely dismissed it after a while. She must have just learned about him from somebody at school, when she still went, that was.

The strangest thing was, he couldn't get the comment Hikaru had said about L out of his mind. Was there anyone who truly knew him? Haruhi was indeed acting differently than she had before. She was still blunt, yes, but the short conversation with her had revealed her impatience, and how she found the unexpected arrival of the host club to be an inconvenience, and a rather unpleasant surprise.

Kyoya wondered if the compliant, slightly annoyed Host Haruhi was the real one. Or was it this 'newer, different' Haruhi?

He sighed, closing his eyes. Too much was happening for this to worry him now, he assured himself. The best detectives in his family were beginning to endeavour on the Kira case, and Kyoya couldn't help but feel like something was somehow going to put them all in danger.

* * *

AN: Next chapter should be the Tailor thing! Hope you are all looking forward to it. I thank everyone who has supported this story so far!


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I am so sorry! It's been... ages since I've updated! However, the most time-consuming demon of the modern teenager's life has come into play: high school. More specifically, it's my A.P. Language class and Fiddler on the Roof orchestra pit rehearsals that has taken up so much of my time, but you get the idea. I mean, on the FIRST day back (a Thursday), in FIRST hour, I got an atrocious load of homework in AP Lang- and it was on PLATO. PLATO! But, I digress. It did take me the entire weekend to finish it though. Anywho, I am very grateful that there were still people reviewing and favouriting and following during my brief haitus, it makes me happy! Sorry if you have to reread the last chapter before this one! :'( I love you all!

* * *

Chapter 11

Tamaki lay on his bed in Suoh mansion #2, reading _Le Fant__ô__me de l'Op__é__ra_, in its original French text. He had just gotten to the part where Raoul meets the Persian when he suddenly realised something.

Haruhi had known who Nekozawa was. He frowned dramatically as he began mumbling to himself.

"There is absolutely no way I would let my poor daughter Haruhi meet that creep! I would have known! He would have corrupted her poor, innocent little mind with his dark trickery and voodoo-ness! He would have turned her to the dark side! THE DARK SIDE!"

He yelled that last part at such a volume that the overseer, Shima, entered his room rather unceremoniously, a look of slight annoyance on her old features.

"Master Tamaki, why are you yelling? I am fairly sure I had one of the maids confiscate all of the _Star Wars _DVDs you had, with your incessant babbling about them."

Tamaki pouted. "You had someone take away my movies!? I can't believe you didn't tell me!" He proceeded to 'shun' her by turning away and facing the wall indignantly, wondering if he could grow long-distance fungi.

Shima sighed. "Why are you talking to yourself?" she asked, dropping the _Star Wars _subject, not wanting him to give her the cold shoulder, however brief.

Tamaki immediately turned back to her, a comically morose expression on his face. "I am so confused! My dear daughter, Haruhi, who is a lovely commoner, has been dabbling with Nekozawa! Oh, how could I be so ignorant?!"

The servant raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

Tamaki paused in his self-loathing to stare at her with an expression that scared her a wee bit. "Does it matter? OF COURSE IT MATTERS!" He began to sob dramatically. "Nekozawa's been out to get me ever since I stepped on his creepy cat voodoo doll and he's using Haruhi to get to me!"

"How do you even know that Haruhi has been speaking with him?" Shima got the impression that she wouldn't be able to leave until she humoured him, so she decided she would get it over with.

"She was all: 'Nice to meet you, Nekozawa-san!'"

"Wouldn't that imply that she was meeting him for the first time, then?"

Tamaki blinked. "But he didn't say his name!"

"People have reputations, and even Haruhi, whose life doesn't depend on her peers and their social standing, might have heard of him by chance."

"He's two grade levels higher than her!"

"Didn't your host club visit his manor once? She may have seen him there."

"But—aw, I give up." Tamaki looked down, upset that Shima was so good at arguing. She should be a lawyer... a really, really old lawyer. Ah no! Haruhi wanted to be a lawyer! Tamaki cursed himself for reminding himself of his 'daughter'.

"I'm going now," Shima straightened herself up to leave. Tamaki merely stared down at his book, trying to find a hole in Shima's argument that would prove her wrong and him right.

Shima shrugged and left the room without another word, leaving Tamaki alone to his thoughts.

"Thanks for inviting us, Kyo-chan!" Honey exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down on the couch. The host club (plus Nekozawa) were at Kyoya's house in the Kanto region of Japan, enjoying a day off from school and helping at the police station. Kyoya personally didn't want the others to come and bother him as he tried to find out what he could about L, but Tamaki had personally went to his house and bothered him until Kyoya promised that they could accompany him.

The television was on, kept at a medium volume level, and Kyoya would glance up at it every once in a while.

"Still looking for stuff on that L dude?" Hikaru asked. "I think you should give up. There is no way you're going to find out who he is. He's too careful."

Kyoya sighed, pushing up his glasses. "True, but L is human, not a machine, and humans make mistakes. I am looking for a blow in his cover."

"Even if he does make a mistake, Kyoya-kun, I doubt that it will be noticeable. Somebody like him is not likely to leave a large gap in his cover," Nekozawa pointed out.

Kyoya sighed once again, impatient at his peers' disinterest in L's identity. He didn't respond, continuing to stare at the television for longer intervals of time now, watching the news with an almost desperate fervor.

"I agree with Hikaru," Tamaki said, jumping to sit next to Kyoya on the extremely expensive couch. "You are obsessing over the mysterious L too much. It's unhealthy."

"I understand that, but I also do not like the way L is taking the investigative business away from Ohtori family. I already had that happen by two other previous detectives, and I'm certain that neither me or my father wish that to happen for a third time."

"Two other detectives? Who were they?" Kaoru asked curiously.

"Denuve and Eraldo Coil. Just a few years before L's debut, they too began siphoning the business from the elite Ohtori detectives. However, just a short time later, their business abruptly stopped, and now L is our main problem."

"You shouldn't be regarding L as a problem!" Tamaki gushed emphatically with a dramatic gesture. "He is for the good of this world! Think of all of the problems that have been solved through this electronically masked saviour!"

Ohtori rubbed his eyes, looking down at his clipboard and making a few idle notes as he tried to not think about L or anything else. This was supposed to be a vacation, and he intended to take advantage of it.

All of a sudden, a 'breaking news'-like announcement came from the television, and everybody looked at it in surprise as an image of a well-dressed middle-aged man appeared on the screen. He was seated behind a desk with a nameplate: Lind L. Tailor.

"_Hello. My name is Lind L. Tailor. Though, perhaps, the public may better know me as the detective, L." _

Kyoya felt his eyes widen. He knew L would slip up somewhere, but why would he make it so obvious? Why would he tell of his name now?

Hikaru frowned. "So that's what he looks like..."

"_This broadcast is being shown across the globe, and it speaks to the murderer, Kira. Whoever you are, Kira, I know you are out there, and I know that what you think you are doing is in the name of justice. However, it is not. What you are doing is wrong. It has no just basis whatsoever, and it is, in a word, evil. I implore you to stop what you are doing and perhaps you can be pardoned, and avoid getting yourself into deeper adversity."_

"Harsh. He must be showing his face to make his message pop out that much more," Kaoru reasoned. Kyoya nodded in agreement. L didn't say anything else for a few moments, until he began to spasm violently, clutching at his heart before falling to his desk, his head making a 'thump' sound. The FFJ, as Tamaki liked to call it, was in utter shock.

"He...he just died..." Honey said, all trace of happiness evaporating from his voice as several reporters began to drag L's body away.

Kyoya couldn't help but admit that he was glad that the L fiasco was all over, and that the Ohtoris could once more be at the pinnacle of the investigative field. However, his slight joy was short-lived when the familiar black Old English L insignia against a stark white background appeared on the television screen.

"What's happening?" Hikaru asked, his voice faltering at the end of the question as he realised what had just transpired before them.

"It was all a trick," Tamaki voiced Hikaru's thoughts in a quiet voice, listening intently as the modified voice began to speak.

"_It is as I thought. You, Kira, can kill from afar. The television booth was guarded to its highest capacity... I do not know how you carried out this murder, especially in front of the public, but I will find out. However... this is intriguing, and impressive. Lind L. Tailor was a convict on death row. He was to be executed tomorrow. I allowed him to assume my guise and take the fall from me to prove that I have not been able to until now. Well, Kira? Are you going to kill me? Try to take a shot. I'm waiting."_

The voice paused in its taunting for a minute, the tension in the air so palpable it could be sliced cleanly through with a knife. With every second of silence, the spectators in Kyoya's living-room feared (or hoped, in Kyoya's case) that L was dead for real this time.

A breath of relief from most of the FFJ members was heard as L began to speak again. _"Interesting. It seems as if you cannot. Do you perhaps, as outrageous as it sounds, need a name or a face to kill? Or maybe both? I would like to confide in you one more piece of information, Kira. Right now, this program is being broadcast out to the public. However, it is not worldwide, as you believe. No, this is being broadcast out only to the Kanto region of Japan, where the first murder occurred. Thank you, Kira, for giving away your relative location." _If a synthetic voice could be smug, this certainly was it.

Kyoya's eyes were wide, incredulous. The ability to think so far ahead from a few scrap pieces of evidence... he had to admit, not even his family could do so well.

L's symbol disappeared, leaving the news reporters with a somewhat dumbfounded look on their faces before they composed themselves and began talking about an uprising in a rural Hokkaido town.

"That... was so cool," said Hikaru, a grin slowly spreading across his face. Tamaki had an entirely different reaction.

"Kira is in Kanto?! He could practically be our neighbour!" Tamaki squealed, in a panic.

"Stop overreacting," Kyoya said, always the logical one. "We aren't criminals, so we have nothing to worry about."

Tamaki didn't seem to have heard Kyoya and was still a little jittery from the entire situation, even after he went home.

There was just something about the way that L talked and conducted things... It reminded him... of someone... but who?


	12. Chapter 12

AN: I apologize for the long wait, but, as every adolescent fanfiction writer knows, schoolwork takes precedence over fanfiction-writing, so updates are not as common or frequent. I hope you are all still with me, the end of Chapter 11 was a big turning point in the story, and in this chapter, some things are going to be figured out, so I also hope y'all like what I have written! My language may be slightly more flowery than previous chapters, but I have just finished reading 'The Scarlet Letter', and all of that Romantic Hawthorne style has stuck itself in my brain! I loved that book, though, and I recommend it to whomever has not read it. While on the subject of books, I also recommend 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth. It truly is an outstanding novel... read it in two days and I am HOOKED! If any of you have read it, maybe you could PM me about it and tell me if you liked it as much as I did!

Anywho, enough of my rambling, on with _le chapitre_!

Chapter 12

During the aftermath of the "Tailor" incident, as the twins seemed to have dubbed it, Tamaki was so hysterical that Kyoya made it his personal goal to calm his friend down before he ended up destroying something of value in his Kanto estate.

"Tamaki, Kira is not our neighbour, who is out to get us while we sleep," Kyoya attempted to reason, once again. He was standing awkwardly by the corner, looking down with slight disappointment at Tamaki, who was staring out into the middle of the expansive living room, holding himself around his arms dramatically.

Kyoya and Tamaki both knew that Tamaki was overreacting, and Kyoya was slightly impressed with Tamaki's almost inhuman stubbornness.

"You don't understand, Kyoya! He's so reckless!" Tamaki looked up at the bespectacled boy, eyes wide. "Eventually, he won't care whether we are criminals or not; he'll just start killing up people and we'll all be victims!"

Kyoya sighed again. "You have to be kidding. Kira's not going to last more than a year."

Tamaki considered Kyoya's words and grinned. "You're right, Kyoya. L's on the case, and I'm sure he'll solve it in no time!" He stood up quickly, his gloomy mood evaporating as he brushed himself off.

"Hey, Boss, come here!" Kaoru beckoned from the kitchen doorway. "Hikaru and I bet Honey that you could eat more cake than him in ten minutes!" He smirked evilly as Tamaki darkened again.

"Kaoru! There's no way I can win that bet!"

Kaoru rolled his eyes and ran in, grabbing Tamaki's arm and dragging him towards the kitchen. "Well, Boss, either you face this bet like a man or go home a coward!" He hauled the loudly protesting Tamaki into the kitchen as Kyoya sat down at the couch and turned off the television. He replayed Tamaki's words in his head: 'I'm sure he'll solve it in no time!'

The almost disgustingly sweet optimism associated with L made Kyoya nauseous and jealous. It didn't bother him so much when he heard the easily swayed proletarian population Tamaki forced him to mingle with talk about it, but when he heard the police gush on about L and his successes and influences, Kyoya couldn't help but feel that jealousy. And it was even worse when his closest friends, including Tamaki, also put L above everybody else in the investigative team.

He knew it was petty. He knew it was selfish. He knew it had an underlay of egoism that only the richest and most pedantric people possessed. Yet, Kyoya didn't care. He, as the member of such a large-spanning family, a family most concerned with medicine and hospital organizations but also well-versed in the criminal arts and capture, felt almost obligated to feel negativity towards L, who had stolen away the business the same way Denuve and Eraldo Coil did just a few years earlier. Kyoya was childish and hated to be overshadowed by somebody he knew was better than him and his family at his work.

Nevertheless, even knowing the immaturity of it all, whenever Kyoya tried to push the subject of L out of his head so he could concentrate on things such as the Host Club's finances and the sudden drop in revenue since Haruhi had decided to stop coming to school, L would almost always invade his thoughts again. He tried convincing himself that the reason L was always on his mind was because of his family's welfare and empire, but he knew that the real reasons laid deeper than that. He knew the reasons were personal. And he didn't know why.

What was it about L that was so familiar? The tone of the voice, however artificial on the screen, suggested someone of high intellect, and the particular cadence and flow of the words burned in him in such a way that he knew he had heard a similar pattern before. The educated language superseded that of even his own detectives, and the planning of his attack against Kira on national television was one without any holes. This type of logician's approach was also familiar, and Kyoya sure knew that nobody in the Host Club, even including himself, was that detailed.

Except. . . .

Kyoya's eyes widened as he stood up quickly and ascended the stairs to his room, ignoring the hullabaloo occurring in the dining room with a sobbing Tamaki trying to stuff as much cake in his mouth as possible. He entered his room and strode over to the desk, taking out a plain school notebook that he had only used once for a history assignment. He turned the page to a blank one and took out his pen, sitting down at his desk. On the page, he wrote three dates:

August 17, 2010

January 9, 2012

March 5, 2012

Next to the first date, he scribbled down _1__st__ case L ever solves-LABB_. Beside the second one, he wrote _New semester, first day of Haruhi's disappearance_. Next to the last, he wrote _First sighting of Haruhi and first Kira murder_.

Kyoya looked down at the information. The only direct correlation between Haruhi and Kira was on March 5th, but he knew that the mathematics test being on that day was probably only coincidence. Kyoya frowned and pressed his pencil to his lips. He knew he was trying to force that information into what he wanted, but there was no feasible connection between Kira and Haruhi. Haruhi had been missing for three months prior to Kira's appearance, which was too big of a gap to say that Haruhi disappeared because of Kira.

Kyoya continued to write:

_L is very thorough and elusive. Kira is the same way: intelligent enough to get away with mass murder and not be suspected. Haruhi disappeared before Kira's appearance, and well after L's. Hikaru said that she had finished the math test in only about ten minutes and was able to get a perfect score. L is smart, and so is Kira. When we visited Haruhi a few days ago, she seemed distant and distracted. She knew Nekozawa's name before he told her, but that is probably coincidence. _

Kyoya knew he was on the brink of some major assumption, but it seemed that the harder he thought about it, the more elusive the answer became. Kyoya sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He always thought that he was smart, but now he seemed to be having second thoughts about that matter. He sat up and wrote down two more dates:

April 16, 2010 – _Denuve takes business, then suddenly stops working on _April 30, 2010

July 23, 2010 - _Eraldo Coil takes business, and suddenly stops working on _August 3, 2010

_Both preceding detectives were suddenly cut off from the detective business with no explanation. Less than a month later, L appears, and has not yet suffered the same fate._

Kyoya looked at his words, and thought them strange. Two super-detectives, Danuve and Coil, solved a good number of cases but were staunched within a few weeks. He knew a lot about detective wars, where rival detectives would compete for the better reputation until his opponent was beaten into the ground with only the smallest trickle of work. The strange thing about these two other detectives was that they weren't just pushed down into the lowest level of investigation; they were completely _out of business_. And as far as Kyoya knew, neither of the two men were dead. Another thing was that they had no rivals other than the group of mainstream detectives that Kyoya was regrettably forced to lump his family members into. Danuve and Coil may have been victims of a detective war, but how could a war be waged when there was no clear opponent taking any business?

The only way those two people could have been beaten down so low in their field was if they didn't even know their opponent was their opponent. It would have had to have been a crafty person, stealthy, yet smart enough to be able to steal business without exposing any tracks. The only person Kyoya could think of that met that criteria was... L.

Nobody knew who L was... and he has basically all of the police power in Japan, and probably the rest of the modern world, also. He could have easily been the culprit of what happened the Denuve and Coil.

Of course, thinking about L got Kyoya thinking about Haruhi again. He _knew _she was part of this entire morbid puzzle in some indescribable way, yet he was no closer to figuring out how, in fact, he was farther. He also began to think about the connection between L and Kira, L and BB. L and every single criminal he has faced. L must know a lot about murder and crime, every detective would, but L is exceptional. Kira is extremely intelligent, and the LABB case is one of the hardest in history.

Is there a chance... that Kira and L are the same person?

It could clear up a few things: The reason L wouldn't show his face would be because if anybody figured out that Kira was L, he would be exposed.

It would explain how L and Kira, at times, seem to be synonymous in tactic and intellect.

It would explain why L is even making progress on this case that the police have no idea how to tackle.

Once L is commissioned by the NPA to aid in the Kira case, L, as Kira, would be in the perfect place and have the opportunity to be able to wipe out entire cities of police with just a blink of the eye.

Kyoya put his face in his hands. His resentment towards L had suddenly deepened with the realization that L could be lying to every last person in the world. By hiding his name and his face, in a way, he already was on the path of deceit. Why wouldn't he be completely prepared for further lies?

He glanced at his paper again and sighed, shutting the notebook and standing up, not wishing to dwell on it further, and he instead went down the stairs to continue watching the idiots make a mess in the kitchen.

L looked up at her doorway. "Near?"

She knew it was him, of course, but what surprised her was that he was alone. It seemed as if she associated the white-haired boy with Mello and Matt nowadays, since it looked like they all were at least trying to cooperate with each other.

"The NPA's asked you to help with the Kira case, right?" he asked in a monotone similar to L's, sitting in his usual fashion in the chair Ryoji usually sat in.

L nodded silently.

"I would like to help. Mello and Matt would too, but Matt's insisted that today was his and Mello's 'frozen-yogurt day', and wouldn't come. You could say I am a delegate of Whammy's top three today." The side of Near's lips upturned slightly and L's eyes softened. She liked it when Near smiled. It proved that he wasn't completely a sociopath, like Mello said.

"Frozen-yogurt day? Are they on a date?" To tell the truth, L knew next to nothing about dating, and she knew Near was similarly prudent, so she anticipated his shrug.

"It's Matt. That should be adequate explanation."

L nodded. "You three have helped enough. I do not feel comfortable with you getting involved in the case any further."

"Whether you approve or not, we will not back down. Either we get your blessing for our assistance, or we don't. We aren't asking for permission," Near said sternly, his inky grey eyes boring into L's own.

L frowned further. "Is that so? You three seem determined, but do you all think you are truly ready for what this entails?"

Near nodded. "We have learned from the best." He gave a slight smirk, and L couldn't help but do the same.

"Are you going to do what the Host Club did and form a police organization? Well, at least one that actually does something, anyway?" L asked. She still disapproved of the Host Club and their slight integration into the case. She knew they could very well be in danger.

"I have already started arranging something. We, that is, Matt, Mello and I, have bought a building that will more than suffice for our needs. We were going to call ourselves the SPK. Special Provisions for Kira. It will be an organization that is solely devoted to aiding L in catching Kira. And, we'll have a mutual share of information with you, so if something happens to you, we don't have to start over. In fact, we can get it set up so that if you do die, the Japanese police would not even know you were dead, for us three can assume your identity."

L felt slightly disturbed with how casually Near spoke of her death, but she didn't care, knowing that this case puts her at risk, especially now that Kira explicitly knows she is after him. "Sounds stable. Once you three get going, we can start asserting your influence more on the NPA and Japanese Police Force. Try to hire experienced people who are not afraid of how you'll do things."

Near nodded, and stayed silent for a moment, while L typed on her computer some more.

"L?"

L looked up.

"Have you decided who your successor will be, yet?"

L frowned. This alone was the question she hated most from her pupils. Whammy and Roger both have been pressuring her to decide, and she had it originally narrowed to five: A, B, Near, Mello and Matt. After a while, A killed herself, and soon afterwards, B turned criminal. Matt was all but eliminated from the options, because L knew that he wasn't eager to assume her responsibilities anytime soon. Just because she had narrowed it down between Near and Mello, however, only seemed to make the dilemma worse. Those two were in such hard rivalry that she knew if she chose one, the other would be angry enough to be vengeful. With Mello, it was obvious that he would be exceptionally angry with her and Near; he was like an open canvas with every emotion of his painted upon it. With Near, it was a little more difficult to discern the emotions he was feeling, but L could feel tensions rise whenever she praised Mello.

So she tried to treat them equally, and put off the pressure of deciding for as long as she could.

"I have not decided," she said as apathetically as she could, though, with Near's eyes staring at her, she felt as if he could openly see her inner turmoil.

The silence was insurmountable for a few moments, before Near said, "Okay," as if he truly didn't care about the matter.

But L knew he did, and she dreaded the time when she wouldn't be able to procrastinate her decision any longer.

AN: Hoped you liked it! Lots of inner reflection in this chapter, which is pretty important for explaining motives and actions later on. I figured I'd update this chapter quick, before anybody begins threatening to drop a chandelier on me... (which is basically what happened in a review of one of my other stories... the chandelier was implied, but I know what he/she was talking about). Have a nice day!


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Bonjour, everyone! I felt 'writey' today, so here is another chapter! You can probably expect another by the end of today or tomorrow, as well! Today is 11-11-12, everyone! This day, 94 years ago, World War I, the war to end all wars, ended! Well... obviously it didn't end all wars, but Happy Veteran's Day! Everybody from all corners of the globe should appreciate their respective soldiers who fight for their country every day! And let us all celebrate those at home, the firemen, policemen and general do-gooders that make our lives better!

I would like to thank Janey-Paininator for giving me some really good ideas! I have utilized one of them, in part, in this chapter, so we should all thank him/her for that! I also thank everybody else who has reviewed, favourited and subscribed this story! Remember, any ideas you all have are welcome, so feel free to give them to me! I don't think that enough authors here on fanfiction appreciate their readers as much as they should, so I try to give you all the opportunity to contribute to this story, even if it is just an urge to update. Thank you all!

Chapter 13

Kyoya and everybody else were sitting in the back of his limousine, on their way back to the familiar sights and smells of home. Everybody could feel that the air was lighter; although Tamaki had lost the cake-eating contests, they knew that he was glad that they were out of the Kanto region, where Kira probably dwelt. Nekozawa sat in his usual corner of the car, staring out the tinted windows and contemplating the dark arts.

Kyoya had his usual business notebook, but he had taken care to take the other notebook with his musings of Haruhi, Kira and L along with him as well. He hadn't shown it to the rest of the self-acclaimed FFJ yet, and he doubted that he ever would. He knew Tamaki would just about castrate him if he suggested that L was Kira, considering he held such high reverence for the detective.

"I'm telling you, it was hilarious! Here we have Boss, stuffing his face with cake, and Honey is just sitting there without a care in the world, and in ten minutes, he had polished off six cakes while Tamaki was on his third piece!" Hikaru was nearly doubled over in laughter as Kaoru recounted, once again, the tale of Tamaki versus the Honey.

Tamaki pouted. "Stop retelling it, we all know I lost miserably!"

Kyoya tapped his chin with his pencil. "Perhaps the twins could tell the story to the Host Club tomorrow? I'm sure that will increase popularity, since nobody would dare to challenge Honey-sempai in a cake-eating contest," he suggested.

Tamaki sunk further into his seat, mortified that the story of his humiliation would be presented to his adoring Host Club fans.

Nekozawa laughed, a quiet, airy spooky sound that darkened the atmosphere of the entire car. "I would love to hear this tale regaled before an audience," he said quietly, his hood shadowing the top face so only his Chesire smile was seen.

And with that, Tamaki fainted.

Later that month, Kyoya sat alone in his regular bedroom, staring down at the notebook which held his thoughts on the Kira ordeal. He still didn't know how everything connected. Theories would get him nowhere, and he couldn't just waltz into the police station and tell them he had reason to believe L was Kira. Who would believe him? Even though he has money and influence, his words would be useless without evidence that everybody could detect. How could he analyze the inner motive and personality of an artificial voice? How could he find out the inner workings of a mind that could only be seen by the torrent of victims he's left behind him? And how did Haruhi work in?

The only way he could get the answers was to physically find them. And while he didn't know how he could follow L or Kira, whether they were the same or not, he could easily track Haruhi. He knew where she lived, where she went, and he could expect to see her at the school the same day the twins had a test. He would just need to be ready, and there would be no feasible way for Haruhi to escape him.

Perhaps observing her would provide an insight on her character. He didn't know if she was directly connected to L or Kira or both, but he could definitely find out over the course of a week. And then maybe he would be closer to solving this convoluted puzzle.

L reached over for the phone and saw the telltale 'RESTRICTED' message on the screen. That meant that either Watari, or the Whammy's boys were calling her. She pressed 'Talk' and held the phone up to her ear with one hand as her other hand scoured the pages of a book.

"_Hey, Ryuzaki, what is up?_" Matt said, a little too loudly.

"Could you be kind enough to lower your voice?" L asked, not taking her eyes off the book.

"_Yeah, yeah, sorry. Well, we're calling you because we need your help with the SPK thingy Near's got going._"

"He has it going already?"

"_Yeah! Boy, Mello sure was mad when he found out that Near had named himself the head. He said that all three of us should have joint leadership, y'know, but Near quickly quelled that hurricane by naming him the Manager of the Field. Which, for all intensive purposes, is a position that doesn't really exist._" Matt stopped talking and laughed.

"I see. What do you need my help with?"

"_We need a connection to the local police. But Near guesses that you'll ask them for help soon, and we don't want to get in that way._"

L pursed her lips. "I was going to ask Police Chief Yagami and a few other officers to help."

"_Yeah, we guessed so..._" Matt sounded vaguely uncomfortable.

L knew he was hiding the real question he was going to ask. "Just ask what you need to ask," she said bluntly, not intent on flowering up the conversation with idle talk.

"_We were wondering if we could ask your host club friends to help._"

L's eyes widened. "Why are you suggesting that? I don't want innocent people like them to get involved with this any more."

"_I know it sounds like a bad idea just now, but hear me out. They've been working with Aizawa, the assistant police chief, for what, four months now? They must have been able to pick up something while they were working for him. That type of information is stuff we need. And I know that them working with you is a nilch endeavour, because you don't want them to know who you are, but if they work with us, they'll be safe enough, and they don't even have to know that we're connected. I doubt Kira knows about us being with you, so while Kira's main goal will be to get you, they'll be safe and undetectable with the SPK._"

L sighed. "I don't agree with you. Kira will be looking to wipe out any organization that's looking for him."

"_Near's already thought of that. He's made up a fake meaning for the acronym SPK, so, at first glance, it'll be an organization that is made for something totally different. Special Planting of Kiwi. That's what it is. All environmental and such. Personally, I think that Near could've done better, but that is what he came up with, and it is the furthest from the truth that you can get._"

L frowned. "Are you sure that Near has considered everything? I couldn't forgive myself if one of the Host Club died because they got too involved."

"_Awww... the great L has emotions?_"

"I'm not joking, Matt."

"_Sorry. And yes, I'm sure. We can even arrange for fake names and a full wipe of the system on anything regarding them. Might be harder because they are all rich and crap, but hey, if Whammy did it for all of us, surely it wouldn't be too hard to do it for them. Especially since it's me that's doing it_," Matt gloated.

L looked down at the paper and was silent for a few moments. "If you truly want to go through with it... I will be monitoring everything that the SPK does and the precautions it is taking as a result. I... give you my permission. Ask the Host Club to help."


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Here we go, as promised! Hope you all like this chapter, there's lots of phone calls today! I hope the spacing is better in this chapter, I added an extra space today so it'll be easier for you lovely readers to transition between scenes. Thanks, Guest, for the constructive criticism!

Chapter 14

The next day, things seemed to be back to normal. The Host Club, including Nekozawa, were back to work with the uptight Aizawa, helping with his filing and phone calls and such. Near had been right, the FFJ indirectly picked up a bit of information about the Kira case while working, and everything they learned was written down and hidden somewhere in Honey's mansion. They figured that if anybody discovered that they had obtained otherwise forbidden information, it would be good to at least have a family trained in martial arts guarding it. Plus, they all knew that Honey was secretly vicious, and was terrifying when he wasn't eating cake or holding Usa.

They worked in relative silence. The twins had a better attitude about the police assistance ordeal, so they no longer complained as much, but they didn't have much conversation, either. The phone's ringing cut through their silence like a knife. Aizawa sighed and picked up the telephone with a bored expression. The Host Club barely regarded him, but that soon changed when Aizawa's face grew confused and he held the phone out to Kyoya, who he had deemed the most responsible and least creepy out of the group.

"Um... it's for you. Some guy named Matt..."

Kyoya frowned and took the phone. Aizawa took the liberty of leaving the office, giving Kyoya the chance to hit the speaker. "Hello, Matt."

"_Hello, Mr. Ohtori._" The entire group's attention was trained on the phone.

"He doesn't sound like a Matt," Kaoru whispered to Hikaru.

"Shh!" Tamaki scolded, feeling important.

"_He's right. My name is Near. Matt was just so eager to call that he was granted the privilege of holding the preliminary conversation_," Near said, sounding exasperated, yet tense. Tamaki frowned slightly, realizing this. Maybe he was just not comfortable with talking on the phone, he decided.

"What is it, then, Near?" Kyoya asked impatiently.

"_I would prefer for you to talk to your superiors with respect_," Near droned, uncomfortable with the lack of his usual voice disguise, but that was the only way for him to contact them without being connected with L.

"What do you mean, superior? You aren't superior to us!" Hikaru snapped, enraged.

"_Not yet, yes, but you will be._"

"And what makes you think that?" Kyoya asked calmly.

"_I have an offer. The assistance of the FFJ, in return for a more... engaging involvement with the Kira case. It is too much of an offer for you to turn down, which is why I am certain you will accept._"

"Wait... you're _seriously _going to let us help you? With such an important case?" Tamaki cried, his excitement literally leaking out of him.

"No, Tamaki, don't jump into this just yet. How do we know you are a reputable group to work with? I have never heard of you, Near," Kyoya said, eager about the offer, but disguising it with a guise of concern and caution.

"_You're right. I am the head of the SPK._"

"I've heard of that! The Special Planting of Kiwi!" Tamaki grinned.

"Special Planting of Kiwi? Are you serious?" Hikaru asked, dumbfounded.

"_The SPK stands for Special Provisions for Kira. And I can trust that none of you will ever tell anybody that information, yes? Good. Can I count on your assistance?_" Near said, wanting to get the conversation over with.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Can we at least get some time to talk it over amongst ourselves before going into something that's probably dangerous?"

Near sighed. "_Very well. You get two minutes._"

Hikaru glared. "Wow, thanks for being so generous with your time."

"Hikaru, just drop it. We need to decide whether we're going to take this offer or not," Kaoru said.

"I say we do it!" Tamaki smiled.

"Of course you do," Hikaru muttered.

"What if it's a trap?" Kaoru asked.

"So what if it is? We can finally be the Force for Justice our name implies!" Tamaki said grandly.

"Yeah, it would be more interesting than filing, that's for sure," Hikaru agreed. "It makes us important. Well, more important, at least."

Kyoya artfully stayed out of the decision-making at that moment, pondering it to himself. Getting involved with Kira was dangerous, that was for sure, but he had the feeling that L was somehow connected to this SPK thing, and even if he wasn't, it was designed to figure out who Kira was, and that was a plus for him any day of the week.

"Let's take a vote. Majority wins!" Tamaki said confidently. "Raise your hand for no!"

He looked around. The only person who raised his hand was Kaoru. "I think it's too big of a risk to take. Remember what happened to Tailor? I don't want that happening to us."

Tamaki looked slightly gloomy at the mention of the man who had died on the television screen before them. "Um... all for?"

The rest of the Host Club, including Nekozawa and Kyoya, raised their hands.

"_I need your decision, now,_" Near said, and he definitely sounded impatient at time wasted.

"Alright!" Tamaki grinned happily. "We accept your offer!"

"_Good. Go outside. There is a van out there waiting for you to take you to headquarters. Do not expect to see Aizawa or the rest of the police force for a while._"

"Um, alright!" Tamaki grinned as Near abruptly hung up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He almost skipped out of the police station, with the rest of the FFJ following. Things seemed to be looking up for Tamaki that day. Kyoya only hoped that what Kaoru (and L) feared wouldn't become a reality.

"What do you mean, you lost her?" Kyoya fought to keep his voice calm, looking angrily out the window of his bedroom. That afternoon, they had went to SPK headquarters, only to find out that they wouldn't be meeting Near until the precautionary tests were completed. They met the aforementioned Matt, who seemed smug, like he knew something they didn't, but nobody called him out on it. The FFJ had gone to their respective homes unsatisfied with the day's turnout, since they were anticipating meeting the rather confident Near.

"_I'm sorry, sir, but we were able to track her as far as the grocery store before she just seemed to disappear,_" the black-clad agent whispered into the phone.

Kyoya fought the urge to face-palm himself. "You are a trained professional, the best in the business, yet you end up losing her?"

"_I'm sorry, sir,_" the agent repeated.

Kyoya knew it was rude, but abruptly hung up. He finally understood the saying, 'When you need something done, do it yourself'. It looked like he'd have to take on the endeavour of tracking Haruhi himself.

"Do we seriously have to go through more testing today?" Hikaru complained to the red-haired Matt. Matt smiled.

"Nope! Today, we get down to business. But you cannot take any notes, record our conversation, take any pictures, or tell anybody what is said today, understand?"

The FFJ nodded.

Matt grinned wider. "Put your mobile devices into this bin." He gestured to a metal bin near to them.

Kaoru shook his head indignantly. "Hey! We went through all of your stupid tests, yet you don't trust us?!"

Matt's eyes darkened, giving the FFJ a feeling that he was perhaps more dangerous than they originally perceived. Because of this, Tamaki hurriedly took the cell phones out of everybody's pockets and emptied them into the bin, completely serious.

"We can't mess this up, Kaoru. Do what they tell us to," he warned.

Kaoru frowned. "Yes, Boss."

"Good." Matt nodded, and, after a woman named Agent Halle patted them all down for any concealed devices, led them out, taking intricate turns until they reached the main room. On the far wall were multiple monitors, and several highly trained agents were working at them. The FFJ looked around in awe, and Hikaru felt chills creep down his spine at a hostile-looking blonde girl in a corner dressed in all black leather clothing, her blue eyes glaring at them, and her arms were crossed. A tall man greeted them, shaking each of their hands in turn. The FFJ surmised that this man was Near, he certainly was old enough to be the head of an organization like this.

"You must be Near," Hikaru said boldly.

The man looked uncomfortable.

"Actually, that's Anthony Rester. He is the operation leader of the SPK," Matt said, trying not to laugh. "Near's waiting for you over there." Matt pointed over to a spot on the floor, to a young man surrounded by dominoes. His back was to them, but Tamaki got the feeling that he was very much aware that they were there, no matter how engrossed he looked. The boy wore white clothes that did not contrast at all with his pale hair.

The FFJ went over and stood behind Near awkwardly. They had to wait a few moments before Near turned around, looking over them with his grey eyes. He looked a lot younger than they expected. Near stood up and straightened his back before giving them an eerie smile.

"It is lovely to make your acquaintance," Near said, in a tone that implied that he didn't think it was that lovely at all. "I am Near. Welcome to the SPK."


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Hello! I'm sorry for the delay! My parents put the Christmas tree up in front of the computer I usually use, so it was difficult to even think about doing anything fanfiction-related on there. It also affected my schoolwork; luckily the end of the semester was nigh by that time, so it didn't hinder me too much. Here's the newest installment! It is very important because it drives some of the plot concerning the Host Club and Light himself further, so I hope you all enjoy! As always, feedback is welcome.

* * *

Chapter 15-

The Host Club was silent.

"Okay, wait a nice, royal little second. _You're _Near? _You're _the kid who was so high-and-mighty and borderline mean on the phone?" Hikaru asked, dumbfounded.

Near blinked his large, grey eyes. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, nothing, just that you do not look like you have the authority to order us around and take away our cell phones and make us go through pointless testing. You are barely any older than us, and you play with toys. _Toys_. I don't agree with any of this," Hikaru answered angrily, brandishing his arm at the random toys littering the floor around the white-haired boy.

"I have to agree with Hikaru," said Kyoya coolly. "It is an encroachment of our rights, taking away our means of communication."

Near looked down for a moment, hiding the uncharacteristic rolling of his eyes. He just couldn't believe that these people did not seem to understand any of his purposes. He looked back up, straight into the dark eyes of the 'Shadow King' and smiled his eerie smile.

"I would simply hate to correct you," said Near in a slightly sardonic tone, though his eyes gave away nothing, and his smile was empty. "But all of this _was _necessary, for how do I know that you are not accomplices of Kira? It would make perfect sense for Kira to plant a type of minion in the police station to gain information. Thus, I had perfectly good reason to test you all before your entrance. I immediately knew that none of you were Kira, and I surmised from your results that you were not accomplices either. And I had to take away your cellular devices because none of the information exchanged in this room- and I mean _none of it_- can leave the room, lest you be tried for treason against the SPK and you will have a lot of inconveniences on your hands, along with mounds of questioning. Understand?"

"Yes!" Tamaki said excitedly, eagerly anticipating work to start.

Near looked at him in a bored fashion, losing his smile and going back to his work with the various odd objects around him. "Mello and Halle can get you started." He gestured to the lipsticked Halle and the imposing seemingly blond girl in the corner.

The Host Club turned and followed Halle over to the other side of the room where the blond girl, Mello, stood.

Hikaru strode forward. "Mello, huh? That's a weird name for a girl. Actually, that's just a weird name."

A flash of anger shone in the bright blue eyes of Mello as he straightened, his jaw clenching.

"Excuse me?" Mello spoke, 'her' voice filled with absolute rage, but controlled at the moment, only because Matt was standing close by and staring at Mello warningly.

Hikaru frowned. "Kinda rude, aren't you?"

"Um, Hikaru," Kaoru whispered. "I'm not certain that Mello is a girl..."

"You're damn right I'm not!" Mello snapped, startling the twins with is outburst. "And you all better understand that, or your time here will be _very_ unpleasant."

"Yes, sir!" Tamaki said loudly, before either of the twins could retort with an answer that would only further antagonize their future coworker. "What are we doing first?"

Mello smiled, though it wasn't a particularly welcoming smile; it was an off-smile, like Near's but in a different way. "The first thing you can all do is tell us _everything _you know. And don't leave out anything."

Light leaned back against the cold wood of the bench outside the methodical yet exceedingly boring building. He pondered why he was even there in the first place; he anxiously fingered the parchment of the torn Death Note page in his pocket, the page he always kept with him for emergencies. The note he had received a week earlier was the note he had read so often that he had memorized it:

_If you wish to not have your identity known, meet me outside the _Tokyo Mental Penitentiary _a week from now at eight o'clock p.m. I look forward to meeting the half-killer who doesn't have to touch a soul. See you then, Kira._

_~13_

A cryptic message, sure, and on any other day, Light would have denounced it as a cruel prank. But the truth of the matter was that he _was _Kira, and this person had known his address. At first, he had thought that it was L messaging him, but after poring through the rhetoric of the short message, it was nothing like the style of the elusive detective he had once idolized.

The only thing that truly disturbed him, other than the fact that the sender knew he was Kira, effectively putting him into a position of blackmail, was the signature. Signing with one of the unluckiest numbers was obviously meant to make him uncomfortable.

He looked out at the door of the penitentiary, beginning to space out. The clock had struck eight almost a half-hour ago. Suddenly, however, a light hand on his shoulder shook him out of his reverie. He jumped, despite himself, and the momentum from his jump allowed the stranger to take his upper arm and quickly lead him away into the nearby shadows.

Once they had stopped, Light wrenched himself away. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

The black mass before him chuckled. "Why, I am the fellow you have been waiting for, of course."

"You are... Thirteen?"

"Well, that is not my real name, but that is what you will know me as, for the time being. I'm sure you will figure out my identity in due time, but I do not want you addressing me as anything other than Thirteen, surely you understand?"

Light nodded. "So, what do you want? Are you attempting to blackmail me? How did you figure out my identity?"

"So many questions, and such little time. I only want to help you, and I feel that you could use it."

"I need no help."

"You need the help of your precious shinigami, don't you?"

Light froze at Thirteen's words. "How do you know about him?"

Thirteen chuckled. "The minute you suspect you are being tracked, and you let Ryuk look around for your stalker while you go around exacting your pitiful idea of judgement."

Light wanted to question Thirteen further, but was cut off by a pale finger being held up to his lips.

"No more questions, my dear friend. No more, today. I will meet up with you eventually, and you can ask everything you wish then. I have no ill will towards you as long as you have no ill will towards me. We can work out a deal right here, right now, and then I will return later. Alright?"

Light sighed. "How do I know you will be of use to me?"

"Because, my friend, I have the shinigami eyes you so desperately push away."

Light's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Here, an opportunity had been presented before him. He would be a fool not to take it.

"And... what are your terms?"

"Simple. You will not kill me."

Light frowned and thought for a moment. He pondered why there would be any reason for Thirteen to die at the hand of the Death Note, but then decided that if he was to be a true deliverer of justice, he would simply get rid of Thirteen when he had no more use for him; he was Kira, not some idle contract-maker.

"Very well, Thirteen. I accept your proposal. I'll see you soon."

And Light left the alleyway.

* * *

AN: Woooooooooo~~~~ isn't this a mind-scratcher? Thirteen's identity is fairly simple to figure it out, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue! I sincerely hoped you liked this latest chapter! I love you all!


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Woo, another update! Thanks to furuba-suzume for adding their imput on the mystery of Thirteen. Another clue to his identity is provided in this chapter but alas, his true identity still remains a mystery! Sorry! Anyway, I'm not entirely sure if everyone reading this will know who Thirteen is once his identity is revealed in later chapters, but it's always fun to meet new sorta-canon characters, isn't it? Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16-

Kyoya watched Haruhi closely from his post behind a building. She was idly looking at a sale of noodles. Kyoya found that watching her was increasingly interesting; she held herself in such a way that was most confident, yet she looked utterly terrible. Her clothes were fairly baggy and there were prominent bags under her eyes that he had never seen before on her. He wondered why she was in such bad shape, but noting had come out of his tracking her yet.

She began to walk further away from him and he moved to pursue, but was immediately stopped by a hand on his shoulder gripping him tightly. Kyoya froze and was taken by surprise as his captor spun him around strongly to gaze into the piercing blue eyes of Mello.

"Now, friend, what do you think you're doing?" asked Mello with a faux sweetness.

Kyoya blinked, finding himself speechless. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, especially the twins, but Mello did a very good job of intimidating him. Maybe it was the leather. Or the fact that his unusually feminine appearance was backed by a fiery temper.

"Why don't you come with me? I couldn't possibly have anything happen to the best informant I possess, now could I?" Mello forcibly led Kyoya away, back to the limousine that Kyoya had the driver park a few blocks away.

"Where's the driver?" Mello asked.

"He's about ten minutes away with his wife. I gave him the night off because I figured I would be out all night."

Mello frowned. "It'll take too long to wait. Get in." He opened the passenger-side door and ushered Kyoya inside. Mello walked around to the other side of the car and got in the driver's side.

"Are you licensed?" Kyoya asked him, hiding the nervousness in his voice. Mello grinned.

"You know, I can't remember. I probably was at one point." Mello found the key in one of the many compartments and turned on the vehicle, immediately stepping on the gas and driving out of the area.

Mello, contrary to popular belief, was not a 'speed demon', in fact, he paid extra attention to traffic rules in order to not get pulled over. Now he was not immune to bouts of road rage, but even so, he made sure to be careful; for if he was stopped by a police officer, he would be arrested for not having a license and have to show identity, which was something he could not afford.

So, trekking through town at a reasonable speed, Mello glanced over at Kyoya. "Care to tell me why you were slinking throughout the marketplace this late at night. It seems below your... social status."

"I was merely doing some work. It isn't any of your concern."

"By saying that, it becomes my concern. Seems suspicious to me," Mello said as he shot a look towards Kyoya.

"It is nothing important."

"If it were not important, then why slink about in the middle of the night by yourself, subjecting yourself to mugging? Why not have an insignificant servant do it so you don't spoil the Ohtori name? You should be grateful to me for saving you."

Kyoya sighed. "Why don't we just drop the subject?"

Mello's rather light-hearted questioning attitude darkened in such a way that the atmosphere in the car itself made it difficult to breathe.

Luckily, Mello had reached the Ohtori estate and did not question him any further. Mello exited the limousine and Kyoya followed after.

Mello turned to leave, but only after saying, "I'll keep my eye on you, Ohtori."

* * *

"L has asked assistance of your associate, Aizawa, and other members of the local police force..." Near repeated to himself, upon hearing the news from an eager Tamaki. "Any question as to why? It doesn't seem like they would be much help."

"We could barely get that much out of him, sir, how are we supposed to know _why_?" asked Hikaru, not concealing his disdain for Near.

"I expect you to give this investigation your all. If you cannot procure the simplest of information, then why do I have any reason to keep you on this team?" Near said back blankly, motioning for Matt to look deeper into this newly-found revelation.

"How is getting a stingy cop to talk a simple feat?" argued Hikaru. "If it's so easy, you do it."

"I would, but it is your task, not mine. If I did all of your work, then you would have nothing to do here except make coffee and run errands."

Tamaki laughed. "That's Matsuda's job."

"Who's that?"

"He is the errand-runner on the police force that's going to work with L. He's really nice."

Near frowned. "Matt, make sure I get the names and backgrounds of all of the police members working with L."

Matt nodded.

"Tamaki, good work. The rest of you, step it up or you will be reduced to Matsuda status."

"Yes, sir," said the rest of the FFJ glumly.

* * *

"Light, there's somebody at the door for you!" Sachiko Yagami called up.

"Alright! Up here!" Light said, unlocking the door and hiding the Death Note, turning of the television, which was turned to the news channel. He had no doubt that his visitor was Thirteen.

A few moments later, a knock was heard at the door.

"It's open," said Light. The door slowly was opened, with an audible creak, and Light was able to finally get a good look at his new co-worker. The figure wore sunglasses, black jeans with a black shirt that contrasted starkly with pale skin, and black hair was brushed back but slightly disheveled from wind and movement.

Thirteen shut the door behind him and sat himself down on Light's bed, facing him.

"So lovely to see you again, Kira," Thirteen said as he took off his sunglasses and fixed Light with a scarlet stare.

Light held back a surprised gasp at the deep crimson of Thirteen's eyes, and wondering if that if he would look like that if he had accepted the eye deal.

"Now. Who do you need to kill, Kira?"

"I think you know."

"Oh, when it comes to killing L, my friend, telling you his name would simply be too _easy_." Thirteen smiled. "What's the fun without the challenge?"

"I have no use for you if you don't give me what I want."

"Oh, certainly, but L's identity is something I cannot give you, not yet. Maybe later."

Light frowned. "The way you say that... it's like you already know L's name... who are you?"

"Now, the less you know about me, Kira, the better. If you knew who I was, then that would only make things more complicated."

Light sighed. "So when _will_ you tell me his name?"

"When the time is best. For now, I'll just help you on a slightly smaller scale." Thirteen smiled grotesquely.

Light fought back a shudder. "Glad you can have fun."

"Oh, I cannot wait."

* * *

Ryoji came in, toweling his hair. "You need sleep, Haruhi. You're driving yourself crazy. And if you are completely serious about working with those police fellows, you're gonna have to make yourself presentable."

L looked up. "I have every intention to. And prepare, Ryoji, for the move."

Ryoji looked at her in surprise. "The move?"

"I cannot let the police force connect me with my alias of Haruhi Fujioka. We will be admitted into one of the most expensive hotels in the city. Then I will be as far removed from 'Haruhi' as possible."

Ryoji nodded nervously. "I see. I'll get packing, then."

* * *

Kyoya sat in his room, leaning back into his office chair, tapping his bottom lip with his pencil. His notebook on the Kira case was open, and he had written _Barred by Mello when tracking Haruhi. Could Mello be connected to Haruhi? And if so, then how is she connected to the Kira case? _The questions he had written down were intriguing, but he had no feasible way of answering them, unless he wished to risk confrontation with Mello again.

He put his head in his hands and sighed, exasperated, determined to solve this puzzle, no matter what.

* * *

AN: Poor Kyoya~ lol Love you all!


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Sorry for the long wait! For anybody interested in 13's identity, it is revealed in this chapter. Hope you all like it!

* * *

Chapter 17

"What?" Kyoya asked dangerously, staring daggers at the agent he had hired to assist him track Haruhi. "What do you mean, she's gone?"

"J-just that, sir! She's not at her apartment anymore! The landlady said she left three days ago. She doesn't know where."

Kyoya frowned, exasperated. "You have got to be kidding me." First Mello, now this. It's like the fates didn't want him to know Haruhi's secrets. The universe was throwing everything at him, and it was getting harder to do his job. More and more Ohtori detectives were practically losing their jobs thanks to the efforts of L and Kira, and it was only a matter of time before that particular field would no longer be one the Ohtoris tread in.

"How could she leave? Where could her and her father possibly go?" Kyoya asked. The agent didn't answer, getting the feeling that the questions Kyoya asked were purely rhetorical.

Kyoya ordered the agent out and stared at his notes on the Kira case intently, not being able to come up with anything else to write down. He took a deep breath and let his thoughts wander.

L was smart, that much he knew. There was no way a normal detective could have pulled off the Lind L. Tailor thing, as well as solved the BB murder cases so quickly. Haruhi seemed smart also, but there were plenty of smart people in the world, and it was probably just a coincidence. For all he knew, Haruhi could be Kira- if she had something to gain from killing off criminals.

Come to think of it... Haruhi never told them how exactly her mother died. The details of the lawyer's death wasn't in the school records, either. He had always assumed illness or an accident in the kitchen; a lot of people died that way, and he had never seen anything regarding Kotoko Fujioka in a newspaper, so it wasn't a major death, even though she was an excellent lawyer. He supposed the Ohtori dominance of that field also could have explained the relatively low-class lifestyle Haruhi had grown up with. Kotoko didn't get enough jobs for them to live easily.

But what if Kotoko had been killed unnaturally? Perhaps it was unwise to assume that Kira had only come around in the past several months. What if he had always been there, and just kept himself so under the radar that nobody noticed his existence until he began killing in greater numbers? Kyoya had no explanations as to why Kira would possibly do such a thing- maybe he wasn't content with the criminal levels and finally decided to take things up a notch.

Kyoya stopped his almost-frantic thought process and looked down at his notebook, in which he had been scribbling his random thoughts the entire time. He pondered a few moments more. Haruhi showed little emotion, and seemed bothered by the host club. She didn't care about money, profit, popularity or reputation. She was an extremely well-driven individual when she needed to be, and Kira's surge of killings didn't start until she began skipping school. Haruhi seemed like an extremely moral person... was it possible that _she_ was Kira?

Kyoya shuddered, shutting the notebook firmly. The idea was impossible. He was probably overreacting. Yet... a lot of things seemed to fit. He just needed to figure out some more details about Haruhi's past... perhaps that would clear some things up.

* * *

Near listened intently to his phone call. Tamaki was standing right beside him, a curious look on his face. For _whatever _reason, Near had chosen Tamaki to be the one person from the self-acclaimed FFJ to remain near him. Matt hid a smile- Near had a habit of pushing people away, and it was extremely strange to see him almost _hang out_ with someone other than his puppets.

Near hung up and turned to Tamaki. "Did you receive any additional information about where Aizawa and the rest of the police force were going?"

"Yessir! They are going to a rather expensive hotel in the interior of the city!" Tamaki smiled, eager to finally share his information with the snow-haired boy.

A few meters away sat the rest of the FFJ, looking over at Tamaki as he took the glory. In reality, it was Honey who had managed to get the information from Aizawa, using his signature puppy-dog eyes. Hikaru snorted, unamused.

"That Near guy is so stuck up. He only pays attention to Boss."

Kaoru frowned and responded, "Well, Hikaru, he probably doesn't like you much, either."

Hikaru glared at his twin, who merely shrugged.

Mello entered the room, and only Mori noticed when Kyoya stiffened, just slightly. Mello walked over to where Near was idly thinking about what Tamaki had told him, and gave Near a plain manila folder, whispering in his ear. Near listened without expression on his face, before it darkened and Near waved Tamaki away so he could talk to Mello in hushed privacy.

Tamaki had a confused expression on his face, but he moved away nevertheless, back to where the rest of the Host Club looked at Mello and Near's exchange with a mixture of curiosity, fear and resentment.

"Welcome back, exalted one," Hikaru said, his tone cruel and mocking.

Tamaki's mood immediately darkened and he looked down as Kaoru hit Hikaru warningly. Nekozawa, who, in all honesty, the rest of the Host Club had forgotten existed, put his hand lightly on Tamaki's shoulder in an attempt in comfort. Tamaki trembled and shrunk away and Nekozawa began to laugh, enjoying himself.

Mello and Near's conversation continued for another few minutes before Mello took Matt and left the SPK headquarters and Near went back to his work as if nothing had happened.

Hikaru, for as much as he detested Near, could not control the curiosity bubbling within him.

"What's going on?" he asked the semi-albino genius, getting up and walking closer to him. Near ignored him, his fingers' slight pause on the keyboard being the only indication that he heard the inquiry.

Hikaru scowled. "Tell us! We are a part of the SPK just as much as you are. We deserve the right to know everything you do."

"You are mistaken," Near said, ceasing his activity and turning to stare at Hikaru in the eyes. "There are a lot of things we cannot tell you."

"Like what?" snapped Hikaru impatiently, even forgetting to be unnerved by Near's unblinking stare.

"You couldn't possibly understand." Near said. "However, I think recent events are those which may be useful to you." Near turned his chair around so he was able to address all of the Host Club group.

"Mello has just informed me of the escape of a dangerous criminal from one of the most secure mental prisons in the world."

"Would Kira be after him?" Tamaki asked, eyes wide at the thought of a murderer prowling about.

"Perhaps so, perhaps not."

"Who is he?" asked Kyoya curiously.

"His name is Beyond Birthday. He is also known as B, and he was the mastermind behind the Los Angeles BB murders a few years ago."

Kyoya couldn't fight the gasp he gave. "That was the first case L solved."

"Yes."

"Do you think this has anything to do with Kira?" Nekozawa inquired lightly, an ominous sort of light shimmering in the blue depths of his eyes. It was not missed by Near, who filed away that little quirk for later.

"I would wager that it would have more to do with L than Kira, even though that doesn't mean Kira isn't a part of it also," Near answered. "In police interviews conducted after the BB cases were closed, it was painfully clear that Birthday was insane, and hated L for all he was worth. But... Birthday left behind some evidence. Every once in a while, he would send letters to people he had never met, just to frighten whoever received the letter. It would be rather unnerving, getting a letter in the mail from a serial killer all the way in Japan. And Beyond knew this. The prison only delivers the letters because Beyond is infamous, even there, and his rights had to respected, crazy or not. However, they keep records of everything he has written. The note delivered right before his escape told somebody to meet him outside of the prison, and the note was to Kira."

"Why did they deliver it then?!" Hikaru asked, unbelieving.

"Beyond had sent random notes regarding Kira and other elements of escape before. They assumed it was a joke, besides, Beyond had them completely sold on the fact that he was insane, and he probably didn't know what he was doing."

Mori frowned, "But you think it's something more."

Near nodded. "Bring this up to the police," he said curtly before turning around and going back to work.

The Host Club exchanged glances amongst themselves. Only Mori noticed the subtle upward curve of Nekozawa's lips, as if something amused him.


End file.
